R. Lauren’s Thanksgiving Table & DIY Potpourri

Happy Monday!  Here’s a tip that you will thank me for.  If you haven’t seen the stage production of War Horse, then you need to put it on your bucket list.  It was one of the best shows I have ever seen.  Also, Jordan gives two thumbs up to the movie Captain Phillips.  She and Mr. Spring saw and really enjoyed it.  Warning – it is intense.

 

 

We mentioned last week that we were having our blog enhanced a little bit.  It’s kind of like a face lift.  We had some tweaking done, and it’s such a good job that folks know something is different, but they just can’t put their fingers on what it is.  We aren’t finished yet, though.  There are still changes that need to be made we are slowly finding out.  Now on to our post.  As is the tradition around here, at the beginning of each month we have been pulling a popular post to revisit from the same month a year ago.  Well, today we have two that have been enjoyed.  We hope our seasoned readers will like seeing them again and hope our new readers enjoy them for the first time.

MAKE YOUR OWN POTPOURRI by Jordan

 

Certain smells always remind me of certain times and places.  For instance, my grandmother’s potpourri is always simmering this time of year in our kitchen.  In the past I wrote about it (here), but this week my mom put together a little fresh potpourri concoction from items she had in her kitchen.  She didn’t have to buy a thing to make it.

 

 

It’s so easy and in just a matter of minutes, you can assemble your own.  Here is what you do:

1.  First, eat two oranges about two days before you want to make your concoction.  Then let the peels dry out.  You could probably speed this up by popping them into the microwave for a few minutes.

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2.  Then go to your spice drawer and get some cloves and cinnamon.  The proportions will depend on how many orange peels you have.

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3.  Then gather some fresh rosemary from your herb garden or buy some at the market.

 

 

 

Put them in a neat little pile and gently mix them with your fingers.

 

 

 

She put her potpourri on a little plate that belonged to my great-grandmother, and it looks really nice just sitting on her carrara marble kitchen counter.

 

 

You can enhance its fragrance by adding a few drops of oil of cinnamon now and then.  Now on to our next post.

 

 

RALPH LAUREN’S THANKSGIVNG TABLE by Janette

 

The nice thing about being a DIYer is that if you don’t have a Ralph Lauren budget, you can still borrow some of his ideas and recreate or reinvent them for a lot less.  This look is timeless.  I bet you have lots of the items on this table in your decorating stash already.

 

 

I made two visits to the store and just by accident was able to see his Thanksgiving table, and two days later, I saw his Christmas table.

 

 

For the table cloth, he used one of his plaid wool blankets.  This is an easy trick we all can do with wool fabric or even a plaid stadium blanket.  By the way, there wasn’t a painted piece of furniture in the place.

 

 

The informal chairs were wicker.  To learn how to make similar pillows on the cheap, go here.

 

 

There were four chairs pulled up to the table, and he used two rich purple velvet pillows and two plaid pillow to match the table cloth.  This is not a color most of us would associate with Thanksgiving.  I love how they always think outside the box.

 

 

His centerpiece of various fruits, antler candle holders and even a demi-john ties in with the purple, also.  This is easy to reproduce with fresh fruit that you can eat later.  Many of you already own demi-johns and antlers.

 

 

The centerpiece was on top of a lazy-susan.  (At this point I was being stalked by an unhappy sales clerk.  I don’t think he realized that I had gotten permission to take photos).

 

 

 

Along with the fruit, there were deep red roses in julep cups.  I think their philosophy is “more is more.”

 

 

He teamed his formal crystal with……

 

 

… silver flatware, plaid china, and a pewter charger.

 

 

I L.O.V.E.D. these linen napkins.  The reindeer ties in with the antler candle holder but also could be used for Christmas.  The napkin ring was a miniature stirrup and was very heavy.

 

 

The light was very understated.  When I went back two days later, it had been changed.

 

 

Like everything else he touches, this table was magic with its mansion in the country feel.  Like I said, he never disappoints.  Now it’s time for you to go through your closets and drawers and put together your own RL table.  Also, if you would like to see what I fell in love with when I visited the Ralph Lauren store in Paris, go here.

 

Take care.  Cheers!