Style Lush

Fiesta Christmas Tree Dinnerware

by Jenny

 

Fiesta Christmas Tree

A couple of years ago, I discovered that Fiesta had a line of Christmas dishes. I didn't have any Fiesta dinnerware before this, but had always admired it. Even though I've been collecting various types of Christmas dinnerware for years--and had amassed quite a hodge-podge-y collection--I proclaimed that I would like to begin collecting the Fiesta Christmas Tree dinnerware (and, you might've been able to hear my husbands eyes roll from three states away). I now have 6 of the lunch plates (which we eat off of daily from the end of November through January 1) and a serving bowl. I love it so much that I've gotten rid of my other holiday dinnerware collections.

It's casual enough for everyday use but also looks really cute dressed up with festive table linens. In true Fiestaware-fashion, it's very durable and the different colors on the ornaments coordinate nicely with the solid Fiesta dinnerware pieces. 

Do you have favorite holiday dinnerware? 

{Photo credit: Macys.com}

 

 

Parker Nesting Bowls

By Beth

I have a set of glass nesting bowls that my mother gave me when I was in college, and they are great, except that they are not at all attractive and the largest one has a broken rim and while I still use it I know it is time to let it go.  But come on, these things are bead sorters and guinea pig feeders and play-dough cutters and oh yes, I do occasionally use them in the kitchen.

But they really need to be replaced.  So when the Crate & Barrel catalogue arrived several weeks ahead of my recent birthday and I found a new set of nesting bowls while thumbing through, I handed the open catalogue to my husband and pointed and said "you need to get me this for my birthday."  And he did, here they are:

I love them.  I love them and I haven't even used them for anything yet.  But trust me, nobody is cutting play-dough or feeding pets out of my new bowls.

(Photo credit: crateandbarrel.com)

An answer for Anthro: Cost Plus World Market

By Manda

I'm not a huge in-store shopper anymore (unless you include tossing workout clothes into my grocery-laden cart at Target while chasing down my four-year-old in the underwear section and simultaneously trying to wrangle my 2-year-old into the Ergo backpack because he tries to jump out of the cart). Usually when I head out to a non-grocery store with my two children I have a specific item in mind, have a strategy in place ahead of time ("You! In the stroller! You! Get a treat at Starbucks if you stay right next to me and don't wander off!" I should work for the Army, y'all), and plan to get in and out quickly.

This week was no different! I planned to take my once-annual trip to Anthropologie in search of one of those ceramic egg crates we all love from last year's Style Lush Gift Guide. I actually planned to use mine for eggs, as I buy them in bulk at Costco because we burn through at least 2 dozen a week at my house between all the breakfast and baking that goes on around here. So. I planned my bribes. I packed the kids into the car. I got my son into the stroller and lectured my daughter about breaking stuff. And guess what? NO LONGER AVAILABLE! DUDE!

My eggs would have been so happy. Sniff.

Well, onward ho! We had to get on with life, and my next stop (after Starbucks and a lengthy visit to Petsmart where we go around and say hi to all the "wildlife" in the entire store. Twice.) was Cost Plus World Market, arguably one of my favorite places to shop for gifts and housewares in the entire world. My favorite coffee mug recently met an untimely end, ahem, and my coffee just doesn't taste the same without it. I had to check if they still had it ... and YES! And the price? Just $4.99. I almost bought ONE mug at Anthro that I didn't like as much for $8.99, you guys. I also bought a second mug at World Market for just $3.99.

Know what else they had? A very similar egg crate, for only $5.99. WOAH! Unfortunately the last one they had was chipped, but the sales gal first offered it to me at a damage discount ($2.99) and when I rejected that she said I could get a rain check and they'd CALL ME when another one came in!

Now, they don't have the cute clothes selection, but when it comes to housewares and other little chotchkies, World Market is my place! And now that I think about it? We bought a couch there, an ottoman, tons of storage baskets, and of course I always buy my favorite stacking mug set there when I need an impressive gift for a budget-friendly price.

Plus? THEY HAVE BACON CHOCOLATE. Believe me, you want to go to there!

Are you a Cost Plus World Market believer? Have you found anything awesome there recently?

 

(photos via Anthropologie.com and Worldmarket.com)

Wooden Placemats: Dare I DIY?

by Leah

I love these wooden placemats from Crate and Barrel (the ones made of circles of wood on the far right).

What I don't love is that they're $14 each and I use placemats approximately 1.3 times per year and would instead like to get a big old stack of them and hang them on a wall as art.

Can I make my own? (Meaning: Can I make my husband make these for me?) If we cut some wooden dowels to the same thickness and then stuck them together with wood glue, would that even work?

Or is this crazytalk that would cost us WAY more effort and frustration than would make up for simply handing over a debit card to the nice clerk at C&B and peacefully parting with $14 per mat?

I think I know the answer. Save me from myself.

{Photo credit: crate&barrel.com}

Wedding Registry Questions: Silver and China

by Natalie

My mom and I were on the phone the other day talking about the upcoming wedding of a dear friend of mine. My mom asked what my friend's silver pattern was, and after we got off the phone, it occurred to me that she didn't ask "if" my friend had a silver pattern; she asked what it was. I don't know if this is a regional thing or not; when my husband and I got married, we registered for both fine china and silver. I'm not sure that I thought about it one way or another, but my mother and grandmother both went with me to register and I, pretty coincidentally, chose the same silver pattern that they both have... Kirk Stiff Repousse, for those of you interested in details. I have to say, for someone who doesn't do a lot of entertaining or do anything fancy at all, really, I ADORE my silver. It's something that I hope to have for years and pass down to my daughters.

(Confession: I sometimes eat my morning cereal with a silver spoon. What is silver for if not to be used, I ask you?)

Now, on the other hand, my china, though I love it, rarely gets used. We just don't live in a time where we entertain formally... um, well, ever. I've used my china at Christmas (twice) and at Thanksgiving (once), and I think maybe I used it once when we put the kids to bed early and thought it would be fun to have a nice dinner. (I can't remember exactly when that WAS, so it was obviously a rare occurrence.) For reference, my china looks like this:

It's Verdures by Raynaud, and it's much greener than it appears in this pictures; I keep it stacked in a buffet and it rarely gets eaten off of. We've used the dinner plates, and we've occasionally used the salad plates to serve dessert, but there are teacups we've never used at all, and I'm not even sure what the smallest plates are for (bread? Who knows?).

We bypassed registering for crystal entirely because we're not really crystal people, but had I not registered for flatware or china, I have a few great-aunts who would have been horrified. (My mother's family are Southern People, ya'll.)

So my question is this: if you're married, did you register for china, crystal or flatware? If you did, are you glad you did? And if not, do you wish you had?

{photos via replacements.com}

 

 

Reader Question: Personalized Tableware

By Megan

Sarah wrote to us asking for some shopping help. 

My son is starting preschool, and one of the requirements is a non-breakable cup bearing his name. Now, I could use a standard plastic cup with tape saying "Teddy", but I'd like something nicer. It'd be great if I could get a couple, as well as something coordinating for his little sister. While we're at it, any ideas for personalized tableware (breakable or not) would be great.

First of all, I would be remiss if I didn't point you toward Mabel's Labels Classic Sticky Labels. At $18.50 for 45 labels, these are the most cost effective option, with the added bonus of turning the last clean cup in the house into a personalized cup, while still being a (giant) step up from a strip of tape.

Next up, Pottery Barn offers these Klean Kanteen Water Bottles that coordinate with their lunch box and back pack lines, naturally.

I could have spent all day on Etsy browsing through one personalized option after another, but I'll leave you with this highly customizable water bottle from seller My Personalized T Shirt (who customizes just about anything if you're in the market for some personalization.)

Moving along to tableware, I've fallen head over heels in love with these plates from Little Uni. They're sweet and appealing to kids, while still pretty enough on my, ahem, YOUR dinner table. Plus, you can mix and match for a brother and sister, but the designs still complement each other.

If you're looking for a more complete place setting, Posy Lane offers adorable coordinating plates, bowls and placemats. 

Sarah, hopefully you can find something perfect to send off to preschool this year!

*Per Sarah's request, all of the above retailers ship to Canada.

{Photo credit: mabelslabels.com, potterbarnkids.com, littleuni.com, posylane.com}

Reader Help: How do we feel about decorative place settings on the kitchen table?

By Tara

Because of the way my house is laid out, most people come in and out of the place through the garage door. And that garage door that everyone uses leads directly into the kitchen. And right in the middle of the kitchen is my kitchen table. And anything that anyone carries into my house somehow ends up on that table.

And it drives me nuts.

I used to think that I hated having my table covered in miscellaneous junk because I just didn't like clutter. And while that is partially true, I don't really mind it as much if it's confined to the countertop. But when the table is a mess? I am a mess.

(Also, my husband is constantly using random magazines to protect the table from hot plates, and I'm not so fond of that practice, either. I don't know why it bothers me so much, but it does.)

My recent solution was to buy a bunch of placemats, one for each seat at the table, as a kind of reminder that the table is for eating, not for collecting toddler toys that we find the dogs secretly chewing in the corner (my life sounds so glamorous, doesn't it?). And while it has kind of helped the situation slightly, I think I'd like to take it a little further and add permanent place settings to the mix.

So, my question to you is: Will this work on my table? Or am I just opening myself up to more stress as I try to keep it all organized?

{photo credit: Realsimple.com, via Pinterest}

What I Would Buy If... (aka Rebecca's Wishlist)

By Rebecca

As I may have mentioned last week, my husband and I are in the process of buying a new house and selling our current place. In a few weeks, I will have a lot more space. What I won't have is any money. So instead of doing any actual shopping, I am compiling a giant mental wishlist and hoping that if I can't have these pretty things, someone else can! 

Let's start small, like this Old Navy sundress. The perfect thing to throw on for cocktails by the beach! Or, the more realistic option: chasing two kids around the park. 

And the Deco Adoration Blouse from Anthropologie, want want WANT. I envision myself donning this with some turquoise earrings and hopping a flight to Rome. Do I have plans to go to Rome? No. But if I WAS going to Rome, I'd make damn sure to have this in my suitcase.

The Millie Rug from Pottery Barn. I clearly need this in my new living room. With a big, comfy brown sectional.

And these darling melamine appetizer plates. I want to use these in my new glorious backyard! For serving grilled kabobs from our barbecue!

Last but not least, these rattan vase baskets. I don't exactly know what I'd do with these just yet, but I know I love them. 

So there you have it. I feel better just looking at these lovely things. What's on your wishlist now?

{Photo credits: oldnavy.com, anthropologie.com, potterybarn.com, pier1.com}

Wedding Centerpieces with a Rustic Twist

By Sara

When I got married four and a half years ago, wedding centerpieces were large, formal and over the top. I don't know if that was the trend with your friends but it was with mine so I didn't consider any other type of centerpiece. I had dozens and dozens of roses and orchids and sprays of greenery; some were low to the table and others were set high, blossoming tall above the table. I loved it and it's over the top-ness. At the time. It wasn't until AFTER my wedding that I kept stumbling on beautiful, simple, rustic centerpieces and so many were DIY. I begged my husband to let me have a do-over but he showed me our sad post-wedding bank account and that ended that conversation. 

Luckily, I have kept an inspiration folder just in case and now I will share with you some gorgeous yet simply rustic centerpieces for your tables.

DIY Sisal Rope Centerpieces from Ruffled (blog)

 

Burlap-wrapped vases from Green Door Designs (blog)

I think this would look MARVELOUS interspersed with short vases tightly packed with flowers. These beauties from Martha Stewart would be lovely:

Also from Martha:

Tea tin centerpieces--so colorful and fun!

Wildflowers in mason jars--classically simple and classically rustic; from Elizabeth Anne Designs

 

Tall birch vases filled with gorgeous flowers...and with a monogram! From Bragging Bags on Etsy.

 

Burlap wreathes surrounding a hurricane vase. This would also be gorgeous with flowers and river rocks anchoring them in the vase in place of the candle. From Rustic Blend on Etsy.

Even though I won't get to do my wedding again (fingers crossed!) I hope one of you is inspired to create your own rustic centerpieces. Rustic DOES mean beautiful, at least in my book.

In Chicago: The French Market

By Sara

This is the post where I go and alienate all the readers who DON'T live in Chicago but I have to declare my love and affection for the Chicago French Market. My adoration came about on one summer weekday afternoon when the dinner recipe I thought up in my little head required an onion...an onion that I did not have at home. The logical part of me knew I could swing by the grocery store on my way home from work/pre-school pick up, with my toddler in tow, and grab my missing ingredient. The rational part of me remembered just how much I hate going to the grocery store at 5 pm, with my now-screaming toddler in tow, battling for a parking spot and a place in the check out line. 

A quick internet search of nearby Chicago market/grocery options led me to the Chicago French Market located in the Chicago loop/downtown. How convenient as I work downtown! I could walk there, grab my onion, and head back to work, all on my too short lunch break.

Oh, friends. This market was magic. Primarily it's a European-inspired farmers' market with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, but it is so much more. There are vendors who sell ready-to-eat breakfast and lunch options and a lovely woman who creates elaborate gift baskets out of edible and non-edible (think lotions and potions) market items. There are beautiful flowers and soaps, locally-raised meats and produce, artisan cheeses and wines. It sounds like it would be pricey to shop at the Market but I assure you that its prices are hard to beat as you're getting products directly from the purveyor. I love supporting small businesses! The best part is that this market is INDOORS so it can operate year-round, even during Chicago's brutal winters. If you're local or just find yourself on a visit to our city, please treat yourself to a visit to this market. I promise you won't be disappointed.

In case you were worried, I did get that onion. And some flowers. And a few chocolates...