this is one of the most adorable showers i have been to! it was for my friend, nicole- she is having her first baby this month. her mom put this shower together and put more work in to it than i have ever seen! not only did she do all the decorating for the shower, she redecorated, refloored, refurnished, repainted etc within the week before the shower! it was a madhouse but somehow it all came together! my mom came in and helped with some of the details and styling, so don't be surprised to see some of our props!

nicole loves anything vintage, so her mom went with that theme for the shower. it was a tuesday morning brunch, with the most delicious food! in the entry way, ann wanted to create a raincloud for the gifts area. she bought the tissue puff balls, and made raindrops with cute vintagey paper (all pinterest inspired of course). we added our giant frame with some of nicole's cute baby clothes.

how adorable is ann's new couch? she put nicole's favorite candies around, and nicole's maternity pictures that i took!

ann used our door tables and rented mismatched vintage chairs. she hung the cutest vintage umbrellas (also rented) above the tables. she went simple with the flowers, placing bud vases of clippings and tulips down the table.

so cute right? thanks nicole for letting me photograph and share your shower!

ps. nicole is naming her baby adelaide, and is calling her lady for short! i would steal this name if she weren't one of my good friends, it's so freaking cute!

bobette taught a class on how to set your holiday tables recently, and i loved everything she did so much i had to share! she created 5 different place settings ranging from vintage to modern styles. it's never too early to get started on holiday planning right??

first let's talk about what you actually need for a table setting. the diagram above shows the general way that they should be set up, but your place settings can be more or less complex depending on what you have and how fancy-pantsy you want to be. consider the diagram a guideline, you do not have to do it exactly like that- and you will see in the examples below that we strayed a bit from what is shown.

1. placemat- my grandma always has a placemat set for dinner, and for some reason it makes everything feel so much more elegant. i always loved that when i visited her house for sunday dinners. this category could include your tablecloth, should you choose to use one.

2. charger- i feel like this is the place where you can be the most creative. there are so many different things that you can use as a charger, because you don't have to eat off of it. we thought of using: cutting boards, tiles, paper, serving dishes. really anything that is slightly bigger than a plate would work.

3. main plate- this is pretty much the only thing that you have to have for a table setting. unless you are super progressive and don't want to be confined by plates. no judgment.

4. salad plate- this could also be a soup bowl. either way it has to be killer since it is on the tippy top.

5. name tag- you can play with lots of different things here too. bobette has a killer collection of name tag holders (see below). i also love when people have little treats as their name tags (ie a chocolate box with the name on the outside). the name tag can be placed anywhere really- tied to the napkin or cup, on top of or next to the plate.

6. fork/napkin/spoon/knife- there are proper ways to set all of these if you are proper and are using multiple utensils. we like tying all of them together and putting them to the right of the plate (though if i had it my way they would be on the left hand side #lefthandedproblems).

7. cup- again, you can have multiple glasses and there are certain ways to set them. we usually stick with just one glass for our signature drink, and have extras near the drink bar.

very vintage:

for this setting we nixed the placemat and opted for that awesome lacy tablecloth (from my wedding, excuse the wrinkles). i love this look for thanksgiving- the palate of pinks browns and yellow are perfect. that charger is a serving platter, and i love how it matches the silver centerpiece. how perfect are the flowers too? oh and you can see one of bobette's name tag holders- the pink ornaments. loves.

gold and glam:

this is the way that bobette is planning to have her thanksgiving table set. i don't think i could love it more. i have always wanted to steal those gold chargers, and combined with the charteuse napkins- she is killing me. those white plates are super old from target, and the salad plates are from anthro a few years ago.

rustic modern:

we have seen this look quite a bit on pinterest lately. it has a limited color palette (she wanted to use tan napkins, but i needed more color/pattern- i can't go that modern). i do love the combination of the two white plates. that wreath was made of a boxwood branch in her garden, as was the rosemary surrounding the candles. those chalkboards with the wooden stands are new- i feel like they are super diy-able for those of you who are crafty.

what plans do you have for your thanksgiving table?

The Blog

baby shower / vintage brunch for little adelaide

entertaining / the anatomy of a table setting / thanksgiving

very vintage:

gold and glam:

rustic modern: