Valentine's Day With Juliet

This year I decided to set a Valentine's Day table with our wedding china, because even though I chose it many years ago, I still love it (just like my husband). 💘💟💕 The last two days here have been totally gloomy with very little sunshine, so the lighting isn't the best for these pictures.  In spite of that, I really enjoyed putting this table together, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.   

      

Thistle Tablescape

I remember the first time I saw a wild thistle growing along the roadside in the mountains.  I did a double-take -- surely I was mistaken.  I thought they only grew in the Scottish Highlands.  I was wrong; they do grow around here at the higher elevations, but we haven't been able to spot any the last year or two, so I wonder if the farmers or the state park rangers are trying to kill them off.  I've heard they can be invasive, and I know from experience they sport some seriously wicked thorns.      I meant to set up this table some time ago, but I was waiting to find the right dishes (at the right price) for it.  A few years ago, my sweet husband gave me a beautiful table runner with embroidered thistles, along with some coordinating doilies.  He ordered them from the Gretna Green website, where we both like to shop for gifts.  I already had the napkins, thinking I would set a Mardi Gras table, and they were perfect with the other linens.  Then a few months ago, I finally found the dishes on e-Bay.  I would have loved to buy the teacups and saucers, too, but I didn't want to spend the extra money.     

   

A Thanksgiving Table 2021

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving this year?  I know last year was a letdown for many because of Covid-19 restrictions.  It seems like this year, more people are planning to gather with family members (and friends).  We will be celebrating our blessings at Hal's parents' home this year.  On Friday, we'll visit my mom and have a dinner of leftovers (my favorite kind of leftovers)  :)  at her house.  I'll be taking food to both places, and our son will be joining us.               I set a Thanksgiving table, just because.  Two things made me want to do that -- a new table runner I purchased in Charleston last month and my dried hydrangeas.  I thought about using my Liberty Blue dishes again, since I enjoyed using them with orange pumpkins a few years ago.  But I decided that the colors in my Johnson Brothers "His Majesty" dishes were what I wanted to highlight this year.   

   

   

Top Ten Posts For 2020

Hi folks.  Aren't we glad this difficult and challenging year is drawing to a close?  Obviously, Covid 19 has been the big talking point, but I know many people have had difficulties not related to the virus.  My husband's aunt had cancer and died from a stroke before her treatments started.  One of the bloggers I like to read, Mike, who writes A Bit About Britain, was sick earlier in the year.  Believe it or not, I'm still having lingering effects from the Bell's Palsey I had back in June.  In fact, I've just been online looking at exercises to strengthen my facial muscles, which don't seem to have fully recovered.  And sadly, both of our families know people who have died from Covid 19.  Needless to say, we're all hoping for a better year in 2021!      Out of curiosity, I thought I would look at Google Analytics to see what my most popular posts were this year.  What peaked your interest the most on House at Forest Manor in 2020?  According to Google Analytics, these are your ten favorite posts this year.   In the top two spots were -- Attract More Birds to Your Outdoor Feeder.     

   

   

The Everyday Dishes

About 25 years ago, my sweet mom and I were shopping in our local Reading China -- oh how I still miss that store.  You could find just about anything there, and it was usually good quality at a good price, too.  Anyway, I happened to spot these boxed sets of dishes on an endcap, and I was immediately hooked.  For our entire married life (which at that time was only about eight years) I had used the cheap modest stoneware dishes that I bought at K-Mart when I first moved out into my own apartment.  I don't have any pictures of those dishes, but I thought they were very pretty at the time.  We also had some dinner plates passed down from Hal's mom that came from the potteries in Seagrove, North Carolina.                

      

   

A Pastel Spring Tablescape

Happy Wednesday dear Friends!  My husband brought me a bouquet of tulips on Sunday, and I thought they deserved a tablescape in their honor.  😊  I haven't done a tablescape just for spring (other than Easter and St. Patrick's Day) in years, so this was fun to do.     

  

Hello September

September and October are my favorite months of the year.  Of the two, I would probably say September is my very favorite.  You know fall is just right around the corner -- the days have started to draw in, the skies are clear and blue,  

Belated Easter Tablescape

Happy Wednesday to you!  I hope your week is going well.  I didn't get a chance to get photos of our table before Easter, so I'm sharing them now.  I decided to go ahead and post this tablescape because this is a table that would convert easily to an any-occasion Spring table.

Our Christmas Dining Room and a Tablescape

Hi everyone!  Have you all been busy as bees?  I've been absent once again -- trying to get Christmas done here at Forest Manor.  Whew!  I still have so much left to do, but I wanted to share a bit of our home with you today.

I have several tablescapes in mind for Christmas this year, but this may be the only one I have time to do.  It's not a typical look for Christmas, but I really love it.  Last year, I saw two or three pretty blue and white Christmas tables, and I fell in love with the look.  I had honestly never thought of using blue and white for Christmas.  There was a really lovely one in my Southern Lady magazine last December.  That table featured blue and white Christmas dishes.  I don't have any blue and white Christmas dishes, but I decided I could use my Staffordshire "Liberty Blue" ironstone dishes.

Our Thanksgiving Table

My husband read an interview with a British actor many years ago.  The actor had been temporarily living here in the U.S. while filming a movie.  The interviewer asked him what he thought of American holidays, and the actor replied that he really enjoyed Thanksgiving.  He said it had many of the best qualities of Christmas -- time spent with family and good food, but without the pressure of gift giving.  We had never thought of it that way before, but we realized he had made an excellent observation.  Thanksgiving is special, and we love it.

We have much to be thankful for here at Forest Manor.  We have each other, our son, our extended family, and Duncan.  ;)  We also have a home, plenty of food to eat, medicine, clothing, and money left over to enjoy our hobbies.  We are thankful, also, to live in a free country.

A Nautical Tablescape

I've been fascinated with the ocean and all things nautical for as long as I can remember.  Today, I'm sharing a tablescape with you, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

A Patriotic Tablescape

Happy Friday everyone and Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian blog buddies!  I hope you have special plans to celebrate your national holiday.

We always look forward to July 4th here at Forest Manor, and I finally got a table set in the dining room.  Whew!  What a crazy, busy year this has been.  I've only done one tablescape since March, when I set a table for St. Patrick's Day (another favorite at our house).  I'm excited to show you these dishes we purchased a few years ago; they really are perfect for celebrating our country's birthday.

A Trip to Replacements Ltd.

Those of you who haven't the slightest bit of interest in "dishes" -- china, crystal, silver, glassware, etc., might want to skip this post.  I just love dishes, etc., and periodically, it's fun for me to indulge myself.  Last Friday, Mr. Forest Manor and I went to Greensboro, had lunch, and then drove to Replacements, Ltd., which is just outside of Greensboro in McCleansville, N.C.  Five years ago, in 2011, we visited around Christmas time; my husband took a lot of pictures and I shared them in an after-Christmas post.

This time around, I went for the sole purpose of purchasing four cups and saucers to go with a set of my dishes.  I got those right away and then had so much fun looking around the store.  The displays were wonderful -- anything and everything spring and Easter.  I'd forgotten just how creative those folks are with their displays, and they have a small museum area as well.  They had even changed out many of the exhibits in the museum since our last visit.

Mom's Easter Table

Hi everyone!  I'm sort of on a tablescaping kick at the moment.  Do you know, that's originally why I started blogging?  I liked setting pretty tables, and I wanted to participate in the various link parties for tablescapes.  I kind of knew when I started that I would want to expand and write about more than just dishes and such.  Sure enough, last year I wrote about travel, books, decorating, etc., but I only did one tablescape all year.  In 2012, we were having our kitchen remodeled, and I think I only did two tablescapes that entire year.  Now I'm in the mood to play with the dishes again.  ;)

This tablescape was actually not done by me; my mom put this Easter table together back in 2011.  Hal took pictures and we put them on the computer, and then I forgot we had them.  I came across them this past weekend and realized I needed to put them in a post.

St. Patrick's Day Table 2016

It's almost time for the wearin' of the green -- are you ready?  :-D  It's St. Patrick's Eve, and I've set an Irish-themed table so I can participate in Kathleen's Annual St. Paddy's Day Blog Crawl.  If you'd like to join in the fun, head over to Cuisine Kathleen's blog and prepare to be Irish for the evening.

McGee's Pub

Once Upon A Time in a place called North Carolina, there lived a husband, a wife and son, a dog, a cat, and two sets of grandparents.  The husband was working on a big computer software installation at his company's Ireland facility in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland.  

A Silver and Red Christmas Tablescape

Hello to you all.  I haven't posted anything in almost a week -- I've been deep into Christmas preparations, which are basically going pretty well.  I still have quite a bit left to do, but I'm doing much better than last year.  We also celebrated Mr. Forest Manor's birthday earlier this week.  I told him I was really glad he was born.  :)

I'm aware that I owe all of my blog friends a visit.  I have had very little spare time to do any blogging.  My husband is home on vacation right now, and we're staying busy.  But, I have been looking at your blog posts as time allows, and it's so much fun to see what all of you are doing during this Christmas season.

I've done another Christmas tablescape, and I felt kind of self-indulgent for doing that with just a week left until Christmas day.  But I did it anyway.  :-D  The main reason is that my mom gave me these reindeer a few years ago, and I wanted to feature them so she could see them on our table.  I spotted them when we were shopping together; they were already marked down to half-price, and my mom got them for me for Christmas that year.

A Winner Announcement

Happy Wednesday everyone!  A winner was chosen last night for the giveaway on my blog sponsored by Lifetime Brands and Pfaltzgraff dishes.  Judith, who blogs at Lavender Cottage, won our giveaway of four place settings of Villa della Luna dishes and the anniversary embossed utensil crock, as well.

An Italian Tablescape and a Giveaway

Pfaltzgraff is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its "Villa Della Luna" pattern of dishes this year.  I was contacted by Lifetime Brands and asked to do a tablescape for fall featuring these dishes, and I was happy to oblige.  :)

A Butterfly Meadow Tablescape and Farewell to Summer

Can summer really be over?  Surely not.  It doesn't feel like any time at all since I planted the flowers on our front porch after our Charleston trip.  Now here it is almost Labor Day weekend.  This feels like the fastest summer on record to me.  I think my dad being in the hospital for five weeks has made our family feel like we lost part of our summer.  Thankfully my dad is doing much better now.

Kathleen has issued a challenge to us for her Let's Dish party -- a "Farewell To Summer" tablescape.  I'm happy to be joining the fun this evening (even though we've probably still got some summer days ahead here in North Carolina).