Tartan Day 2018

I enjoy celebrating Tartan Day each year.  My daddy's people came from Scotland and Ireland, but the most colorful stories are about the ones that came from Scotland! Douglass and Lindsay are the names we celebrate.

Tartan Day is all about the family tree, to me. This year, I incorporated a family tree into the tablescape!  My blue plaid is similar to the Douglass tartan and the red plates are similar to the Lindsay tartan!  Close enough to make me happy, but for my daughter's wedding several years ago, we ordered the real Douglass tartan ribbon to use in the floral decor!

Take a look at the elements of the table decor!  See the tree?  I love my "Family is Everything" banner. A little burlap overlay and the puddled plaid ... brings it all together.

The place mats are perfect for this theme ... also burlap.  When the Scots  celebrate, they call all the clans to attend the "Gathering"!  Their gathering is all about food, family and culture.  Their  culture and the meaning of their clan crests focuses on bravery and strength.

The clear plates at the bottom of my place setting are a basket weave pattern that resembles plaid.

No Tartan Day would be complete without a few sips of Scotch Whisky! Cutty Sark is a favorite at our house and we have a couple mixed cocktails that look extra elegant in those old crystal stemmed glasses!

I prepared a true Scottish recipe ... Fish in an oatmeal flour breading and pan fried. The flavor is amazing and nutty. You can see how the oatmeal caramelizes a little and soaks into the fish, which is first soaked in mustard and cream.

I'll be sharing this post with a couple blog parties that are listed in my sidebar!  Have fun clicking through.

Easter Sunday Dinner 2018

We had Easter Sunday Dinner in the little wine tasting room! The dining room us still under a deep cleaning!  It will take me a little while to get that done!

The tablescape was inviting, but I left plenty of room to put the food on the table, so we could serve family style!  Mr. Bunny stood watch on top of a stack of inverted carrot shaped baskets.

The adorable bunny plates are a Hobby Lobby find; the dinner plates are Pioneer Woman; the mugs jumped in my cart at TJMaxx!

The place mat is PW, too ... and matches so much of her dinnerware because it is made with braided 'rags'!

I always prepare a printed menu for our special family meals. Sometimes we remember to save them as mementos! When my daddy died, I found a stack of them in one of his dresser drawers ... along with every Christmas present tag I'd ever made for him!

Since it was also JimmuMuttMoore's 10th birthday, we had to do something to celebrate!  His Easter treat included lots of rawhide and some dog munchies ... but I also dipped some people munchies in chocolate!  Those were for MeMutt's people!  Scooby Doo graham cracker bones were perfect!

I baked the old-fashioned Watergate cake with fluffy green frosting!

 Hope you enjoyed our Easter Dinner!  I'll be sharing with a few of the blog parties on my sidebar, so make sure you click through to share in the fun!

Wine in the Afternoon!

My girls were off on Good Friday, so I made us a special wine event!  We spent a couple hours eating, sipping and talking about all kinds of things!

Miss Phoebe had a new pair of flashing tennis shoes! Her wine glass was filled with juice!


I love to set Easter themed tables and have a few sets of bunny salad plates!  These came from Pier 1 this year.  The wine glasses were new finds from Pier 1, too.

I have totes filled with decorations, but Phoebe and I really enjoy shopping at our favorite collectible shop.  We always add to our collection!

Take a look at our cute table!

Those are Pioneer Woman place mats.  I've been seeing this new pattern, lately!  Love the fuscia trim!

Here's a closer look! Don't you love the Peeps sign?  

Love my peeps.

Here are a few extra elements on the table ... and the take home gift!  More PW items!  I filled that little colander with grapes!

Love my simple place setting!  The green egg-shaped plates came from our favorite collectible shop!

Bunnies and Bees!

And then, there's food!  Simple blocks of herb cheese, salami, lots of crackers.  Ricotta blueberry lemon scones made from Friendship bread starter ... and one of my favorite cheese combinations.  I blend butter, cream cheese and bleu cheese together, then top it with fig preserves and pecans!  Delicious!  We also had Brie cheese topped with cherry apricot preserves and gently warmed!  Also, delicious!