When you find something you love, buy a lot of it.

That is what I did years ago when I discovered these beautiful goblets from the Dollar Store. Such a bargain, I bought about 30 of them.

They are chunky and never break, even when kids use them.

And even if they did break, so what? It’s not like it is your fine china.

I love making entertaining beautiful and affordable.

You can also make it very practical, like I did here by placing all the glasses randomly in a large bowl or basket.

A great idea for casual entertaining.

For a more elegant approach, a few weeks ago, it took me less than 2 minutes to put this together.

Cut whatever flowers you have in your yard.

Find a low-line tray.

Place your glasses on the tray.

Add and light 2 candles.

It’s beautiful.

I love a bargain and I also appreciate quick, easy entertaining tips.

What tips can you share that take just 2 extra minutes to make entertaining beautiful?

A few weeks ago, my friend Jeannie brought me a beautiful springy basket of flowers, and off to the side was a small paper-thin butterfly.

Butterflies are very elegant and I find them so fascinating, with their vibrant colors so spectacular, all created with different patterns, and the way they flit around so gracefully.

Phyllis Hoffman from Celebrate Magazine, creates party inspiration for every occasion, this month encouraging mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters to come together for a lovely springtime luncheon for all ages.

If you notice, the theme throughout this elegant luncheon is butterflies. (Love the classy chair.)

The butterfly has long been a Christian symbol of resurrection, for it disappears into a cocoon and appears dead, but emerges later far more beautiful and powerful than before.

The butterfly is also a symbol of hope.

How beautiful is that?

Keeping the Mother’s Day theme in mind, Celebrate offers printables that are simple and helpful:

Pre-planned menu

Blank menu

Mother’s Day place cards

What’s cool is that you can come up with your own menu, or you can use some of their recipes. Or you can follow the recipe menu for this particular party found in the Spring 2012 issue.

So lovely!

Have you considered hosting a Mother’s Day Luncheon this year, and if so, have you ever used printables?

(Celebrate Magazine did not sponsor this post today, but they did do a lovely book review of, The Reluctant Entertainer, a nice gift idea for Mother’s Day. Thank you, Celebrate Mag!)

I recently saw this easy DIY dinner party seating plan idea, for place cards, and it stuck in my head when you need the option of moving your guests for pre-planned seating. (I rarely use place cards unless I have 10 guests or more, otherwise it seems a bit stuffy.)

Gather
-2 colors of Post It pads (one color for ladies, one for the men)
-Scissors
-Note pad
-Pen

How it works
-Cut matching pieces of paper, leaving sticky part on one end, enough for your dinner guests.
-Draw on your note pad the size/lay-out of your table
-Write the names of guests on the Post It pieces
-Place names around the table until you come up with a “seating plan” that you like

Isn’t this a fantastic idea? I’ve penned it out on paper before, then I didn’t like it, and had to start completely over.

This way you can easily move the “guests” around, play with the way you want to seat your guests.

Boy, girl, boy, girl …

Or, girl, girl, girl, boy, boy, boy …

What’s your easy way of planning where your dinner guests will sit?

How we decorate our kitchens not only make them attractive and inviting, it can also make them relaxing and a reflection of our style and who we are as a family.

One way to accomplish this is by adding your own photography or art, which adds a personal touch.

We have an open shelf between my kitchen and dining room where I love changing the decor according to the season.

Since it’s almost strawberry season in our area, this time I layered with a piece of art, 2 photos, with an attractive plate that tied in with the color theme.

I love the conversation that it brings when others walk in, because we love to talk about our strawberries (and make yummy desserts to share with others).

Layering tips on open shelves:

- Think of what you love and how you can display it in your kitchen.
- Think of the season.
- Decorate with a theme or a color theme.
- Adding photography or art brings color and texture to the room.
- Think of layering if decorating on shelves.
- Think of what you find interesting and what others may see as unique and inspiring.

I really get bored with the same thing on the shelves month after month, so changing things up gives a stylish, fresh feel.

It makes the kitchen a warm and inviting place where our family and friends can have a good time, and where we share love, conversation, and good food.

Do you ever change your kitchen decor with the change season?

Easter is one of the holidays for which I love to decorate the table.

The colors are fantastic, if choosing the pastels or even the bright vibrants colors of spring.

Last year I chose a unique vase.

Using red tulips and white roses and a little bit of greenery from the garden.

You really can’t get any simpler than that.

I was looking through some books for inspiration (do you ever do that?) and to be honest, it was a bit discouraging. Books have beautiful dinner parties with elaborate centerpieces. But I always wonder what the table would look like once the centerpiece was removed. (Naked.)

And wouldn’t the centerpiece need to be removed in order to talk to your guests across the table?

I love the simplicity of a small, low-line centerpiece, candles, and a wide open space where people feel like they have enough room to stretch out and look across the table and converse.

What size centerpiece do you prefer, and do you remove it from the table as your guests are seated?

Don’t try to be the hostess you are not. You want to be gracious, and entertaining should feel natural. – The Reluctant Entertainer

Probably the most important entertaining tip that I love to offer to others as far as finding an entertaining style that works for you is to not compare! Don’t get so wrapped up in comparing yourself to others that you get bogged down in trying to impress, and miss out on the whole purpose of entertaining in the first place.

Which is …

The relationships with the people coming over.

It’s not about the food or the table setting, or how perfectly everything is put together.

My advice for St. Patrick’s weekend is to keep entertaining simple.

Paper napkins work just fine and add a festive feel.

If you saw this delicious recipe (so easy, 3 ingredients), how about serving it in mugs, if you don’t have the “right”dessert dishes.

Don’t go to the store to buy something new just to impress. Learn to be creative and use what you have.

I keep IKEA napkins stocked in my pantry, different colors for different occasions. Yes, I love cloth napkins, but for easy, festive entertaining (like St. Patrick’s Day) paper works just fine!

Will you be doing any St Patrick’s entertaining this weekend?

Decorating with nature is usually free and beautiful. I love how Pottery Barn says it …

Bold and bright or soft and subtle, beautiful color is what gives a home soul.

-Pottery Barn

Since it’s St. Patrick’s week, think of “green” elements of nature that you can bring into your home, to make it fresh and beautiful, and full of soul, just like these pictures from Terra Firma Home.

By the way, green is my favorite color, so I’m loving this week!

I took these photos at a very cool design store in Medford, Terra Firma Home.

Inexpensive ideas, yet so fresh!

What’s your favorite way to bring nature’s greens inside?

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you had everything to do, and you’ve done it. – Margaret Thatcher

I love days when I can cross off my list most of what I needed to get done. Although it’s a rare day when everything gets crossed off, there’s still satisfaction in starting with a goal, and by the end of the day just knowing that you did your best to accomplish that goal.

I’m happier, and my family seems to be happier, because I’m more relaxed.

One of the SIMPLE things I love to do, free in the spring, summer and fall when I can go to my garden, is to fill the house with fresh flowers. Even if it’s a little vase of daisies by the kitchen sink or in the bathroom.

In the winter months (now going in to spring), many grocery stores offer fresh-cut flowers at a reasonable price.

So I treat myself to some. Like these beautiful yellow tulips which I bought last week.

I save ribbon from other gifts or packages, rolling it up and securing with a paperclip to keep in place.

Find a canning jar and fill with water.

Wrap the ribbon, or tie it in a bow (use the paperclip).

Fill the jar with flowers, place on your dining table, and ENJOY.

Tulips and daffodils are usually the first flowers of spring. So lovely.

Have you brought fresh-cut flowers into your house yet to celebrate March and Spring is on the way?

This time of year you may be purchasing azalea, hydrangea, or cyclamen plants. Or maybe you’re receiving them as gifts. I recently bought a kalanchoe plant, which sits on my dining room table. (Sometimes I’ll move it over by the kitchen sink.)

It’s bright and cheery, and … well … for next week, it’s GREEN for St. Patty’s Day!

I love to buy plants at the Grocery Outlet and give them away. They are inexpensive, yet you can find some beautiful ones.

These plants are tender, and unless you live in a warmer climate (I do not), they are best preserved if you keep them inside.

Here’s a few ideas where you can place them in your house:

-Kitchen windowsill

-Table or counter

-Living room or entry way

-Even a lighted bathroom

-Dining room table.

For me, early plants in the house are inspiration to what’s ahead … the upcoming garden season. Which I cannot wait for.

Do you live in a warmer or cooler climate, and what is your favorite way to display a tender plant in your home?

(Here’s an informative site that shows how to care for a kalanchoe plant, if you happen to pick one up at the grocery store this week.)

When it’s time to spruce up my house, I always seem to get a “new” post idea, like this one today.

If you have books on display throughout your house, do you keep the dust jackets on, or do you remove them?

I cleaned and dusted a table in the corner of my living room, adding my “no-kill” Christmas cactus plant so it would have plenty of light. By the way, I call it “no-kill” because I’m not very good at keeping indoor plants alive, and I’ve been told that if your Christmas cactus is given proper care and is placed in the right location, it’s not unusual for it to flower several times throughout the year. Yeah!

I also added a NEW, fresh cilantro-smelling Pier 1 candle, and brought a few of my favorite books to the table …

But they looked … dingy, ragged. Dust covers torn, squashed, bent.

Once decorative, the book jackets were just in the way.

What originally drew me in to buying the books in the first place (a beautiful, colorful paper cover), now I removed and tossed into the garbage (recycle bin).

Ahhh, freshness!

And actually quite colorful!

How do you deal with book jackets?
Do you save them or toss?

A few weeks ago when preparing for a family dinner, I picked up some miniature white Gerbera daisies from the grocery store. Long-stemmed, fully wrapped to protect each delicate pedal. Elegant and each one with its own attitude, if you know what I mean.

This time the store only carried white, but usually there are some stunning, vibrant colors to choose from.

Do you ever think about flowers each having an attitude? What are they saying, as they look up to the sky, or when they are starting to droop and get dry and brown? I’ve always wondered …

With these beauties, I used the following items to make them stand out and be perfectly gorgeous on my kitchen countertop.

-Glass rocks
-Scissors
-Wide mouth vase
-Water
-Sunlight

Place the daisies immediately in tepid water. Tepid means that the water is neither warm nor cold. When I bring flowers home from the store, even if I don’t get around to arranging them for a day or so, I place them in a tepid cup of water.

When getting ready to arrange, cut each stem individually and place in the vase of water, rather than cutting a bouquet and inserting it in the water.
Dissolve an aspirin in the water. This will keep the daisies fresh and alive for significantly longer.

I used glass rocks to support the stems. Gerbera daisies have weak stems, which can lead to them looking droopy more quickly, so the taller the vase, and having something for them to be stuck into, helps them stand tall.

Make sure that there is sunlight directly overhead. Gerbera daisies will turn toward sunlight just like sunflowers. As a result, the best way to keep them looking perky is to make sure that the sunlight is coming from overhead. Otherwise, they will turn or twist on their stems to face the light, making them look droopier.

A large elegant glass vase with vibrant Gerbera daisies placed on your countertop or in the middle of your dinner table is a way to add a festive flair for dinner parties, or make an everyday meal feel special by giving the table a fresh pop of color.

Here’s a twist for a springtime dinner party: Place slices of citrus fruit in the vase with the daisies, mixing bright pink flowers with pieces of lime, or orange blooms with slices of lemon.

For a summer dinner party: Toss a few colorful tops of Gerbera daisies in the swimming pool or a nearby fountain. They will float along the surface, giving an unexpected touch of color.

Decorate your bedroom: Fill a large, clear glass bowl with water; place the tops of Gerbera daisies and floating candles inside.

You can also float the pedals: Float in a shallow amount of water in your bathtub, for entertaining. Coordinate the colors with your bathroom colors, or add a bright, festive accent color.

The ideas are limitless and fun. I especially love the very top photo with my 2 sisters in the background .. totally an unplanned photo!

What’s your favorite Gerbera daisy color?

Paperwhites … mine are growing nice and tall in the punch bowl I planted them in a few weeks back.

I love the crisp white of the flower.

It’s a good reminder that spring is on its way, as I walk by our piano and see these beauties standing nice and tall.

But … what’s the secret to getting them to stand so tall and pretty, without falling over?

F I S H I N G L I N E !!!

Clear fishing line.

Tie a piece around the middle.

You can barely see the knot.

And no one will even know!

If you planted bulbs this winter, have you thought about using fishing line, how are the bulbs growing, and would you share a picture of them over on my Reluctant Entertainer Facebook page?

I’m so happy to announce the winner to Nester’s Winter Giveaway Day who won the KitchenAid® 13-cup Food Processor:

Congratulations to …

Debbie Smith

When we examine our families, we’re likely to find the roots of who we are.

Last month I received a very special Christmas gift from my sister, Di, one that I’m reminded of daily because it’s in my dining room, in black letters, up high on the wall. And the cool thing is, the 3 of us girls have the same vinyl words on our dining walls. (My sisters and I at Christmas.)

The family prayer on my Dad’s side of the family, one we sing every time we are together, is scripted out in black vinyl ink, stretched across one wall in my home.

The words remind me of my grandparents and family. I’m not sure where this song/prayer originated from, except I grew up singing it with my Dad’s family, and later my Mom’s family incorporated it into large group prayers.

One of my early memories of this song was at a family reunion in Turner, Oregon, where my Grandfather and his large extended family (the ones who were still living; he had 20 brothers and sisters–yes, 2 mothers) gathered together for a weekend of celebration.

Before each meal, we’d sing the Friesen prayer.

God is great and God is good, And we thank Him for our food …

Hundreds of family members gathered. I was young; I probably only intimately knew a handful of cousins, but the experience was impacting and binding.

My dining space before I added the vinyl wording.

My niece, Lisa, the creation behind the project.

The final “Amen.”

The finished product.

When we examine our families, we find the roots of who we are.

And those roots anchor our kids.

And their kids.

And their kids’ kids.

Written words can capture the senses, and they give us a feeling of belonging.

Do you have anything in your home that, as you walk by a certain room or space, reminds you of family?

(My niece is very talented and has her own little biz going over at Dabrowski Designs. We did not use a company as she created this herself. She also used a straight line laser level to get the “perfect” line.)

I’m crazy about the “fresh feel” of January and putting all the Christmas stuff away, tidying up, thinning out, simplifying … it just feels good.

My husband and I went to a few after-Christmas sales and I picked up my annual fresh Paperwhites.

What are Paperwhites?

Paperwhites belong to a group of Daffodils that are easily grown in a pot or vase indoors. Their large clusters of pure white flowers arch above graceful, blue-green foilage, and their perfume fills a room with fragrance. Paperwhites require no preparation and are absolutely foolproof. When bulbs are planted in early December, they will flower in 4 to 6 weeks.

Mine were planted the last week of December, so I’m counting down the days!

Now the fun part for me is that this year I planted them in a … tah-dah … punch bowl.

My cousin passed down to me her punch bowl set with 12 dainty cups, which actually match my Dollar Store goblets. I love how she had me in mind when she was thinning and cleaning through her stuff.

Yes, I was looking for something big, pretty, and that would hold all of the bulbs (I planted 3 boxes).

I love how the lip comes in, and it will hold them nice and tight as they grow taller and taller.

Follow the directions on the box.

They started looking like this.

But in 5 days time, grew to look like this.

I wanted to post about this now, because there’s still time to grab some after-Christmas sales and get your bulbs planted.

Maybe in your punch bowl, now that the holidays are over!

Let’s all share pictures of our beautiful bulbs in about 6 weeks, okay? (Here’s what I “re-potted” last year, not Paperwhites, but pretty!)

I’ll be sharing mine!

Do you plant winter bulbs in December or January, and what are your favorites?

After Christmas we hosted a small gathering in our home for our daughter, who’s headed to Carnegie Hall in 2012 with a group that she plays violin with. It’s an exciting time for our family!

I’ve already been in the entertaining mode, but since Christmas was passed, I wanted to add an element of freshness and greenery.

I fell in love with the lemon cypress plants at our local grocery store and the price was right to have them inside, decorated, and then be able to plant them outside in larger pots in a few months.

To get ready for about 25 people in our home, I pulled out the white dishes that I’d be using for the spread.

Paper napkins and plates from the Dollar Store.

I added green ribbon to the plants and placed them in a white dish (since I will be planting these in our courtyard, I did not want to buy pots for the plants, an additional expense.)

Placed them around the house.

Used pictures of old-violin-days.

We brought out our daughter’s first violin that she started playing at age 4.

A memorable night, we were grateful for the gift of music, old and new friends, and the effort our daughter put into her concert.

How to care for lemon cypress trees
From what we’ve been told, these pretty little plants need a TON of water. But I took some info from the web on how to take care of them if you want to read up on them before you purchase them. They are so bright and cheery and really fun to decorate with!

Indoors
Keep your lemon cypress tree near a window where light is plentiful. During colder months, consider using a light box to give it light. Keep the soil moist, especially during the winter. According to Indoorplantcare.com, new lemon cypress owners often make the mistake of watering their trees using only tap water. The lemon cypress needs water with properly measured fertilizer for nutrition.

Outdoors
Lemon cypress trees are accustomed to a fair amount of heat. About 68 degrees is best. Caring for a lemon cypress outdoors requires maintaining a frequent watering schedule and ensuring that the tree is properly fed and trimmed. Indoorplantcare.com suggests planting lemon cypress in a somewhat acidic mixture of compost. Adding a little clay or sand to already fertile soil will keep your lemon cypress growing year after year.

Are your Christmas decorations down, and how do you plan to refresh things up this month?

What I love about this time of year is bringing nature into the house for decorating, because it’s beautiful and mostly free.

Don’t you love rose hip branches? Pottery Barn sells them, and they are beautiful, but I bet you can find a local biz that will sell the fresh live branches to you. Or, better yet, find a local bush that you could trim some from yourself.

Nothing is better than real (I’m not a big fan of the faux red berry branches).

In our town, Pennington Farms sell the branches from their property, or Terra Firma Home in their store.

Last year I had fun arranging them in our home.

This year I bought double the amount of branches and used them in different ways.

It’s also elegant to decorate a simple table.

How about the window sill?

Little bit of dessert stylin’.

Add to your beverage area if you’re hosting a party.

One simple branch along with a curly willow branch.

Hang glass tea light vases from the branches.

Last night I took a quick picture of my kitchen counter.

I wrote about bringing the great outdoors (and greenery) in last year.

And look what my friend Kristin made and brought to my house. Beautiful. I love handmade gifts!

But this year I’m all about the rose hips.

What kind of natural items do you use for decorating at Christmas?

This post is linked to The Inspired Room’s House Tour/DIY Linky party!

Apples, Apples, Apples.

Such a simple, inexpensive, and beautiful way to decorate during the holidays.

Decorating with seasonal fresh fruit is easy, colorful and interesting. You can start with holiday greens as the base, and then mound or arrange the apples in interesting containers.

On the counter – add a wreath to a large white bowl and fill with apples.

Apples and evergreen topiary – HGTV.

Outside – my front porch.

Creative wreaths – BHG.

Make your own centerpiece – BHG.

On the mantel – my friend Melissa’s house in Seattle.

Enjoy a scented wreath – Paula Deen.

Hang from the trees – holiday cheer from Plant Talk.

Apple candle holders – BHG.

Dried apples – ambience with tea lights.

What clever ways will you be decorating with apples this holiday season?

Our friends came for dinner last weekend and I challenged myself to dig through my box of autumn decorations and use what I already had in setting my table. And also add some little autumn touches around the house.

How many times do we entertain and run to the store to buy something new?

It doesn’t have to be that way.

One less trip to the store gives me more peace of mind when I’m entertaining.

- Find a tablecloth that works well for the season
- Pull out your entertaining dishes
- Iron up the cloth napkins
- Set the table early using what you have
- Keep the centerpiece simple
- Light the candle and take a picture before your guests come

Many of you know my philosophy of using standard white dishes year round, and adding seasonal accents to make every gathering in our home special and unique.

Along with pumpkins on the porch and autumn wreaths around the house, it’s sometimes the “little touches” that remind us of the season.

Pillar candle on the kitchen counter.

Simple leaf in a tiny vase.

Small black napkins in various places.

Fall-ish pictures of kids from “the old days”.

Touch of fall greenery.

Seasonal pictures of your own food, framed.

Do I ever worry about what people will think? Yes.

Did I worry about my tablecloth not being long enough on the ends (I bought this for my old table which was smaller)? Yes.

Did I think about my menu and second-guess myself? All the time.

But what I’ve learned to do, and what I want to encourage RE readers to do, is to push past your fears and remember this:

The heart of hospitality is wherever people feel loved, cherished, and valued.
(-The RE)

A stylish table can add to the evening, for sure, but it’s not everything.

What little reminders help you keep entertaining simple?

Warm connections can start when your guests walk up to your front door.

Whether they’re coming for dinner, to pick something up or drop off, to grab a child, to drop off a kid, maybe even drop off or pick up a quick meal, no matter what, your front door area is important.

Everyone’s front porches are different, and my area is rather small, so I choose to keep it simple.

This fall, I chose beautiful mums.

Pumpkins.

And turned over buckets to add height. A garden bucket and a Home Depot orange bucket (color tied right in).

It’s colorful, seasonal, was very inexpensive, and it says to my guests, “Happy Autumn,” when they come to the door.

Warm connections also begin the minute you open the door, with a smile, with the words that come out of your mouth, and the way you make a person feel.

Can you remember a time you felt welcomed, right at the door?

If you don’t have time for seasonal decorating, how do you make your entry or front door area welcoming?

If you missed previous days to 31 Days of Warm Connections …
Day 1: Secret Ingredient to Warmer Connections
Day 2: Bringing the Beauty of Autumn to Your Table
Day 3: Multi-Generational Pear Applesauce
Day 4: Canning Suncrest Peaches with a Friend
Day 5: How to Find Contentment
Day 6: Encouragement with Easy Pear Cobbler
Day 7: Bush’s Garbanzos, Chicken, and Quinoa Soup for a Sports Family
Day 8: More About Others
Day 9: Technology Versus People
Day 10: The Table Experience with Bush’s Beans
Day 11: Dreaming of Autumn Guests
Day 12: Gathering Around a Homemade Life
Day 13: Sisters in New York City
Day 14: Giving to Those in Need
Day 15: Enjoying Everyday Sounds
Day 16: Life’s Small Moments
Day 17: Well-Designed Kitchen Counter
Day 18: “Now Time” and 5 Years at RE
Day 19: Taking a Chance and Chocolate Caramel Bars
Day 20: Harry and David, Nostalgia and Hospitality
Day 21: Even in a Messy House

And be sure to check out the rest of the 31 Day Participants!

When the weather turns cold, our kitchen is the go to place for gathering our plates, filling them up, and eating together as a family.

Sometimes we eat around the table, other times out on the back patio (heater), upstairs in the family room, or even in our cozy living room.

It doesn’t really matter where.

Since my Dad designed our kitchen–with a curved overhang of the island, just right for 3 stools–I do believe he had “conversation” and “warmth” in mind.

Easy-designed kitchen counter:

-We made it extra long
-Wide open space for an abundance of food
-Plenty of room for stacks of plates
-Perfect for bodies leaning in while sitting on stools
-Intimate for conversations

I also love decorating “big” on our large center island:

Cut branches with stunning Fall colored leaves. A reminder of the changing season and a cozy season to come.

It’s not every day that nature delivers a thousand red leaves on the soon to be naked branches of trees.

-Snip or cut branches
-Find a large vase
-Add rocks or something to weigh it down with
-Stick the branches in (rocks)
-Add water

And then enjoy the stunning, drop-dead-gorgeous glow, right on your kitchen counter!

Warm connections come from something as simple as … a well-designed kitchen counter.

When’s the last time your freshened up your kitchen counters with a reminder of the season?

If you missed previous days to 31 Days of Warm Connections …
Day 1: Secret Ingredient to Warmer Connections
Day 2: Bringing the Beauty of Autumn to Your Table
Day 3: Multi-Generational Pear Applesauce
Day 4: Canning Suncrest Peaches with a Friend
Day 5: How to Find Contentment
Day 6: Encouragement with Easy Pear Cobbler
Day 7: Bush’s Garbanzos, Chicken, and Quinoa Soup for a Sports Family
Day 8: More About Others
Day 9: Technology Versus People
Day 10: The Table Experience with Bush’s Beans
Day 11: Dreaming of Autumn Guests
Day 12: Gathering Around a Homemade Life
Day 13: Sisters in New York City
Day 14: Giving to Those in Need
Day 15: Enjoying Everyday Sounds
Day 16: Life’s Small Moments

And be sure to check out the rest of the 31 Day Participants!