Fun Dinner Decor

We had friends over for dinner and my darling husband decided to cook a meal worthy of royalty. Since I contributed a lil' old salad (more on that later) I had to step it up when it came to the decor. It seemed only fair, plus I had to do something while he was slaving away in the kitchen. And yes, that is the face of our little girl below the mirror (not a ghost)…

she was my helper.

I went to where else but Home Goods for fun stuff to dress up the table. I started at the linen section for inspiration and found this tablecloth by Badley Mischka. I loved the purple and red pattern.
Here is a similar one from Ralph Lauren.

The centerpiece was made from purple and silver gilded candle holders (on sale for $4 per 3 - WOOHOO! Find similar ones here) and a shallow bowl with floating candles,
button mums and dahlia buds. 

The bowl was from Home Goods and had a similar leaf pattern as the linen. It was purple glass and around 15" in diameter. I found a similar one here. I loved this centerpiece for 3 reasons. 1. It's super low but is still gets noticed with the pops of color from the flowers and the glow of the candles. That makes it easy to see the people across from you and doesn't disrupt conversation. There is nothing I hate more than a centerpiece in your face while trying to talk to someone. (I am guilty of making a few). 2. It was super easy to make. 3. It has the elements of fire, earth and water which
 adds depth to this otherwise simple centerpiece.

There was 7 lanterns (from Cultural Intrigue) hung above the table to give a more intimate setting. The center one was 24" chocolate brown and the sides were 14" in cinnamon, teal and yellow. I used fishing line to hang them at various lengths and taped them to the ceiling. However, I don't recommend the tape - one fell on my friend's head while eating…I just filled her wine glass to the top and kept talking. Usually, at venues there is a drop ceiling with slats and cross bars that you can tie the line around.

Perhaps I should do an entire post on hanging lanterns.

The table in all it's dim-candle lit glory. The china is Lenox and the crystal is Vera Wang - 
both from our wedding.

This was my husband's time table - how awesome is that?

P.S. for anyone who read the watermelon salad post yesterday here is how it went. True to form I got nervous about doing the actual grilling so I made the Mr. do it. I totally threw a wrench in his schedule but he obliged. Also, last minute I realized I didn't have arugula so we used endive instead, which was bitter but balanced out with the watermelon and goat cheese. It was a total Top Chef moment but luckily it worked and hopefully in the next Top Chef scenario I get to be Padma. I recommend this salad - it was easy and yummy! (although it paled in comparison to the main entree. It was like a paint by numbers followed by a Picasso!)