diy: clementine candle

How To Make a Clementine Candle from maxwell gillingham-ryan on Vimeo.

Great video today over at Apartment Therapy on how to make a clementine candle.  Fun party decoration for those spring dinner parties we're all dreaming about...

prethanksgiving perfection

We had SUCH a lovely party this weekend at the Berkeley Penthouse - our annual prethanksgiving party I haven't been able to shut up about!  We hosted 25 people to a sit down potluck dinner.  Everyone went all out and brought some amazing food - pumpkin pasta, candied yams, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a pineapple surprise among other things.  Much wine was drank and there was much to be thankful for.  Our friends make all the prepping totally worth it!  There was even enough leftover for me to make turkey soup...mmmmm

 (table set!)

 (Chris, aka the fantastic oreo ball maker, wins powerball every year)

 (the fabulous hosts of the Berkeley Penthouse)

table top inspiration.

My Pottery Barn catalog came yesterday; perfect timing with fall on my mind!  I couldn't help but gush over their perfectly set tables.  I simply enjoy a well set table.  If you're having people for dinner, it really sets the mood.  And while I deplored setting the table as a child, now I look at table setting as something creative.  Really, it's an art.

(fresh flowers are always lovely and I love hand written baby menus)

(great dishes, great color, great details at Jamie Meares from ISuwannee's shop, Furbish)

(obsessed with making pop art of your friends in place of place cards - doubles as a gift! a Coco+Kelly idea)

(Pottery Barn Fall 2010 catalog fav & inspiration for prethanksgiving at the Berkeley Penthouse 2010)

Now, I can't stop thinking about ideas for how we'll set our table (er, in two months).  We have about 30 people to a SIT DOWN potluck, with passed food, so that means extraneous stuff takes quite a backseat and makes it more of a challenge so we can make sure to fit everything and everyone.  Check out pics from previous years.

(fall leaves, baby votive candles, cranberries and flowers)

(still leaves, flowers and cranberries; names written on plates to determine place)

Already collecting ideas.  Love putting names on wine glasses as a place card.  We could do something similar.

(from the improvised life)

 Another Pottery Barn inspiration -

(cutting out leaves and putting them and a pencil in a flute and have everyone write what they are thankful for.  Cute and functional!)

Any ideas to set a beautiful table without taking up too much space?