looking forward to the new year

Happy New Year!

I’m so excited about all the amazing things that await us in the new year. Some of my favorite things that I'll be covering in 2019 will be…

photo by BHG

More fabulous decorating ideas, 

as well as 

photo by BHG

and fun storage options.

photos of the royal family by Karen Anvil

This weekend, I came across these amazing pictures of the royal family visiting with the locals outside church on Christmas day, and I was amazed at how detailed the pics were! It’s like we’re standing right there next to Meghan and Kate!

And speaking of Meghan, she does look quite advanced in her pregnancy. I’m guessing for maybe a March birth. They did say she was expecting in the spring.

Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?

Such great candid photos!

You may have seen my latest new year’s eve tablescape on my blog, in the Romantic Homes January issue or on the Cottages and Bungalows website, but what really excites me is when one of my tablescapes is recreated by a friend and they style it with their own unique style. 

Our really good friend Sherri set her New Year’s table with the same printable clock faces, clear glass plates and chargers. Doesn’t it look beautiful?!

Yay Sherri! It turned out great! Now you can use those clear glass plates for just about every holiday!

You can see the whole table here on the Cottages and Bungalows website. They added all the extras that weren’t included in Romantic Homes.

Be on the lookout in the next week for my blog post on my favorite store in Savannah, The Paris Market.   

It's one of my first stops when we visit Savannah every summer. Here's a little peek...

I’m happy to announce my collaboration with Farmhouse Style Magazine this upcoming year. It’s a quarterly magazine that comes out for each season.

The spring issue should be out within the next week or two, and features a couple of my projects that I shot exclusively for them, like these Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins.

Here’s the new cover…

I’m also continuing my collaboration with Romantic Homes as well as their sister publication Cottages and Bungalows magazine, so I’ll share more insight on those stories as well in 2019.

Wishing you all an amazing year ahead, with lots of peace, love and laughter! 

happy new year! 
fabiana

for lots of fun extras, please follow me on instagram!

a flamingle pool party

According to the urban dictionary,

a flamingle is a combination of flirting and mingling,

but in this case, it’s just a little mingle

amongst the flamingos, 

with a little swimming thrown into the mix!

So here's how I set the scene for
our latest pool party...

To set the table for this fabulous pink soirée,
I started with luau style raffia placemats

and large palm leaves that look

like philodendron leaves.

They’re perfect for a fun summer party! 

Always a great standby for any party are
a great set of clear glass plates.

You may recognize them from 
some of the other tables I've shared on the blog.

They're so versatile, match any style and theme,
and are one of my all-time favorite
tablescape accessories.

Well, look at how they work here...
the beauty of the palm leaf comes shining through
but the glass adds a much needed dose of elegance.

It's so fun to mix high and low pieces on a table.

The little inflatable 
flamingo drink holders were a must for this table.

As soon as I spotted them in the Oriental Trading catalog,

I had to have them for table...

and I ordered a few extras for the pool.

They’re soooo cute!

I love how these little flamingos add

just the right touch of whimsy

to the table.

At the center of the table are

two more friendly little flamingos

that are part of the centerpiece.

These guys came in a set of four,

with two large ones (mom & dad)

and two smaller ones (the kidlets).

I just cut a few leaves from my sago palm

and used two blocks of floral foam as a base

to create a little nesting area

for this pair of flamingos.

Some bougainvillea adds 
a bit more pink.

Bright paper lanterns are always a festive accent

and they look so pretty swaying in the breeze..

Seeing these little guys floating around

just makes me smile.

The larger flamingos are out near the

pool keeping an eye on the festivities, and

I don’t think a pool party is

complete without a few fun beach balls.

I also set up a few cocktail

tables around the pool for extra seating.

Lavender lemonade will be on the menu

to help keep thing cool.

You know me and my succulents, 

well I found the cutest pink succulents

that make the perfect accent for the smaller tables.

BTW, they're faux!

I'm not the only one who's a big fan 

of my new flamingo accessories, 

my dogs got really excited about the 

new inflatable flamingos in the pool.

They actually thought they were real

 and started barking up a storm!

And little Dugan was the biggest culprit...

wishing you a fabulous weekend!

ciao! fabiana

And it all came together like this:

Luau Place Mats:  Oriental Trading
Large Palm Leaves:  Oriental Trading
Inflatable Flamingo Drink Holders:  Oriental Trading
Bright Beach Balls:  Oriental Trading
Pink Napkins: World Market

Pink Glasses:  vintage
Clear Glass Plates:  vintage

Bamboo Flatware:  ebay
Flamingo Party Tea Towels:  Ciao Blog Shop

Paper Lanterns:  Oriental Trading
Bistro Chairs:  Serena & Lily
Faux Succulents:  World Market

Thank you to Oriental Trading for sending me these products to review. 

The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.

Unique Gifts & Accessories for Everyone on Your List at Cost Plus World Market.

a fun christmas table for the kids

Christmas morning is one of the most special times of the year, especially for the kids, so why not treat them to a special little Christmas breakfast after they open their gifts? 

I've put together a fun little Santa-inspired table that will keep that Christmas feeling going throughout the day. Hot cocoa will be served in these adorable vintage-style Santa mugs. 

And what pairs perfectly with hot cocoa? Why gingerbread, of course! That’s why our centerpiece for the table is this cute little gingerbread house, easily made from a kit available at Trader Joe’s.

Each place setting also includes a little satin stocking to hold silverware and a keepsake diy ornament that doubles as a place card. Wooden alphabet tiles or extra scrabble tiles can be used to easily spell the names of the holiday guests. Just glue letters on to wide popsicle sticks and then strung with red and white baker’s twine. 

After breakfast, the kids can hang their new ornaments on the tree. I made sure to add the year on the back of the ornament too!

Burlap charger plates are the foundation of the place setting, and then I use my vintage clear glass dinner plates.

A pretty craft paper runner from Oriental Trading was exactly what I needed for cutting out the paper circles that I placed between my charger plates and my glass plates. The snowflake design is perfect for the table! Then each setting is personalized with a cut-out felt Christmas greeting. (I used a salad plate turned upside down as a template for paper circles.) 

Santa is waiting for all the good little boys and girls!

It's such a simple and festive way to set the table.

A fun tradition for us every year is assembling this little gingerbread chalet from Trader Joe’s. All the extras are included in the kit, so all you have to do is whip up some white frosting for the “glue”. Not only is it adorable, but it’s tasty and totally gets the kids’ taste approval!

And it all came together like this:

Burlap Chargers: Oriental Trading

Glass Dinner Plates: Vintage

Snowflake Craft Paper: Oriental Trading

Red Raffia Place Mat: Home Goods

Santa Mugs: Oriental Trading

Wooden Alphabet Tiles: Oriental Trading

Wooden Popsicle Sticks: Michael’s

Small Satin Stockings: Oriental Trading

Red Felt Christmas Greetings: Dollar Tree

Gingerbread House: Trader Joe’s

Water Goblet: Vintage

Red & Green Glitter Trees: Oriental Trading

Silver Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Paper Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Tissue Snowflakes: Oriental Trading

Nutcrackers: Vintage 
Tablecloth: Vintage

   

 ciao! fabiana

Thank you to Oriental Trading for sending me these products to review. 
The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.  

I was mentioned on the today show !

It was a total shock and surprise yesterday when I was given a shout out by The Today Show yesterday on this New Year's Eve segment with Kathie Lee and Hoda!

                    

Amy E. Goodman of Zulily was doing a fun New Year’s Eve segment on the show and used my clock face table runner idea for the foundation of her tablescape!  Watch the segment here.

It’s really easy to recreate. All you have to do is print out 6-10 copyright free and pretty clock faces and cut them out. Then you just layer them in the center of your table and embellish with new year’s décor of your choice.

Amy used silver spray painted wine bottles which would look great with candles in them as well.

For my original table, I used silver and gold glass globe Christmas ornaments and pearl necklaces strewn about, and lastly livened up the look with mercury glass votives and clear glass candles. These items all add a bit of dimension to the center of the table and highlight the runner.

I cut out large circles of leopard wrapping paper for my place settings and layered them between silver chargers and clear glass plates. No gluing required for any of this! 
   

It’s a really easy and festive look to pull off!

Thanks so much to my friend Lynn Simons for her eagle eyes and ears and letting me know about the shout-out on the Today Show, or I would have totally missed it! I feel so honored.

Here’s the first New Year’s Eve table I featured on my blog way back in 2012. We were ready to ring in 2013! I used the same clock faces from the runner for my place settings. I still have these clock print-outs, and they’re easy to reuse from year to year. They’d also be great for a milestone birthday party or wedding.

Remember when Teresa and Dina Manzo used my clock plate idea back in 2014?

Here’s an updated version of my clock tablescape from last year…

And yes, these are the original paper cut-outs from 2012 and I think they still look great!  

The floral centerpiece utilized evergreen cuttings and white roses sprinkled with eucalyptus tips.

This year we’re ready with a simpler table for a more casual gathering. 

I do love the clock theme, and this year I found these adorable cardboard clock buttons at Oriental Trading and just strung them on twine to create a fun little accent for the table.

We have mini champagne bottle bubbles and selfie props all ready to go... Happy New Year!

ciao! fabiana

Today Show photo credit: Amy E. Goodman of Zulily