just like grandma's dishes, but better

 

I remember growing up with Corelle plates, and I’ll never forget the nostalgic feel of these glass plates. And now… I’m happy to share with you a peek at the newest era of Corelle.

 

They’re timeless and so strong, but light and airy at the same time. This new “Botanical” pattern is highlighted by coastal blue, organic lines and pretty florals. 

This pattern evokes a timeless seaside style for any meal or gathering.

I paired my “Botanical” floral and striped Corelle with this pretty blue and white Seville tablecloth and napkins from Pacific and Rose. 

It's a match made in heaven! 

Going into the weekend ready for 

casual family gatherings around this table.

This boxed set of Corelle includes floral and striped salad plates, a contrasting stripe for the dinner plates, and generous bowls edged in blue.

I love how they mix and match with each other! And the blue designs on the plates is my favorite shade of denim. 

 

Do you recall the groovy patterns that Corelle made during the 1970’s?

 

Their variety of patterns and styles were so popular for that era, and the quality never quit! These plates are designed to be used daily and hold up to wear and tear beautifully.

 

Aren’t these vintage magazine ads from Pinterest so much fun?!

Today, Corelle still offers pretty patterns and durable plates that make setting a table so much fun.

 

I still can’t get over how lovely this Botanical Floral set of plates coordinates perfectly with Pacific & Rose’s Blue Seville table linens.

How would you style your Corelle dishes?

 

ü Plates and Bowls: Corelle Dining

ü Tablecloth & Napkins: Pacific and Rose

ü Blue Glassware:  Carolyn Bender Lifestyle

ü Rattan Placemats:  Serena & Lily

 

 

 

ciao fabiana

 

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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.  

a new year's eve dinner

A little table for six on New Year's Eve.

Silver chargers and glass plates have 

clock faces nestled between them.

Ready for champagne.

Silver and gold ribbon curls 

provide a festive touch.

Mini silver frames are used as place cards.

We’re all ready to welcome 2013!

A silver pedestal dish holds poppers for midnight.

Party hats and horns await guests.

Tick, tock, midnight will soon be here!

All’s well in the candlelight.

A few scattered ornaments complete the tablescape.

An elegant dinner is in the making.

The guests will soon be here.

An easy design for New Year's!

Silverware, glasses and plates: vintage 

Charger plates: Sur la Table, 

Napkins and table cloth: Home Goods

Napkin rings: Target  

All set!

Here's how I started....

I used 8 x 10 copies of clock faces.

And, these simple glass plates....

Hello, 2013!

Check out the updated version of this table here.

ciao! fabiana

For more interesting tablescape ideas, I invite you to stop by my Ciao Tablescapes page. It’s a collection of my favorite tablescapes that I’ve created since starting my blog in 2011. 

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

Get this New Year's eve kit now from Amazon:

blue plate special

20 times blue plates stole the show      

As you may know, I love blue and white plates. They’re my “go to” item when setting a table, so today I’m sharing twenty of my favorite ways to set a table with blue and white dishes, mostly transferware.

You often see me layer plates of different sizes at a place setting, and my preferred way is to highlight a pretty plate right on top.

                     

Typically I use an interesting salad plate and place it on a plain white dinner plate. That way the pretty plate is framed out and sitting right on top where everyone can see it.

When I do change it up a bit, it’s fun to experiment with different blue and white patterns or mix in different colors of transferware.

I also love interesting borders on dinner plates. You can reverse the look with a white salad plate, and frame it out and just show the pretty pattern along the outside edge of the larger plate.

I’m thinking about starting a series of blog posts about using blue and white china with other colors like green, turquoise, yellow, orange or pink, and highlighting a different color combination each week. 

Would you guys be interested in this?

To further accentuate this look, I love using a natural texture as a base for the plates. I have a small collection of round and rectangular raffia placemats that work perfectly with the blue and white.

Wooden charger plates also do the trick and bring the perfect amount of texture to the table.  

We can’t forget about the napkins! Typically, I love a graphic pattern like a stripe or gingham as a juxtaposition to the mostly floral patterns on the plates, but simply textured and luxurious linen napkins are my latest obsession!

Table runners are more versatile than tablecloths, and I love how they let a little bit of the table show through. It’s a great look to add naturally textured placemats or chargers with your choice of fabric for the table.

And of course glassware is the final glistening touch to any table. I just love vintage colored glass, especially the goblet shaped variety. (Stay tuned for a blog post on glassware soon!)

With blue and white on the rest of the table, it’s just so pretty to continue the look with the blue glasses as well, but sometimes it’s fun to change it up a bit!

I love the look of this fuchsia colored orchid with the bright cobalt blue of these vintage plates. This castle adorned plate is the only one I have, but it works flawlessly with lots of other blue and white patterns. 

  

Teeny weeny bread and butter plates also look exquisite stacked on top of the larger plates. Don’t be afraid to layer, layer, layer!

Utensils can be an unassuming accent, or really make a bold statement… it’s up to you!

Blue and white pattern-on–pattern is a fun look. It’s almost like selecting pillows for your couch, haha. See how the stripe in the table runner, the intricate design in the plate and the mini print of the napkin all play off each other?   

These Blue Pheasant plates and napkins designed by Mark D. Sikes totally coordinate for a whole different look. 

It’s always s fun to have a little coastal accent on a table, either with the plates or placemats, or in the centerpiece. 

Blue and white works flawlessly for any holiday or celebration, and it’s simple enough to use in everyday life too.  

I’d love to hear your favorite way to set a table with blue and white plates...

Do you mix it up or do you like everything to match?

ciao! fabiana