entertaining ideas at hodgepodge

The new merchandise has been rolling into Hodgepodge and it seems I was developing a subconscious theme—entertaining!

Many of our new inventory items will help you pull-together a picture perfect event.  From appetizers to aperitifs—we’ve got you covered.  So, when I started thinking about how to incorporate these items into our displays, I decided to arrange and entire display around the entertaining theme.

Here is the the whole shebang:

 

This porcelain handled service set elevates an iceberg and shredded cheddar salad to  mixed baby greens with goat cheese.

 

Cheese platters are almost always a part of our offerings for our guests.  I love these cheese knives from Comptoir de Famillie; along with the cheese marker tiles (you can write on them with dry erase markers) on one of these bamboo cutting boards would make a great presentation.

 

The low profile of this sugar mold votive holder makes it ideal for a buffet table.  The three tier server also helps make the most out of limited space on a table.  Try elevating items on cake pedestals—such as the willow dome at the rear.

 

Arrive at a party with this jute tote filled with wine and you’ll be at the top of the invitation list every time! 

 

These monogrammed bottle stoppers make a great gift, but they’re wonderful to have on hand to re-cork your wines, balsamic vinegars and oils!

 

The perfect cocktail napkin for a wine and cheese party . . .

 

This corkscrew is a piece of art!  You won’t want to put it in a drawer.

 

These 6-inch square, linen blend coasters are only made better with a monogram!

 

The Derby provides the perfect opportunity to have a few friends over for a celebration.  These footed mint julep cups are silver plated, adding authenticity to your celebration.  The willow dome  and tray are great for outdoor entertaining—helping to keep the bugs off of your food.

 

If you prefer your mint in a mojito, perhaps we can interest you in this beautiful wooden muddler.  It comes in a muslin bag with the recipe printed on it.

 

This wonderful peasant boy statue is ideal for serving nuts, candies or olives, but for now he’ll just hold the extra corks.

 

These easy-mix dips from Gourmet du Village blend into tasty appetizers with the addition of only a couple ingredients.  I keep them in my pantry—just in case.

The only thing better than brie . . . brie with apricot & jalapeno topper!  The cheese ball mixes come in sweet or savory flavors.

 

Use the brie baker for serving, as well.  The dip chiller has been a favorite of ours for years!  Mix-up your dip and keep it chilled with the addition of ice in the base.

 

I hope this gives you a few ideas for your next get-together.  If you’re interested in any of the items you see here, please visit the Hodgepodge Boutique.

Thanks for your indulgence.

Paige

a valentine bistro

tablescape thursday.

it’s a little early, but not for retail. i’ve already set the valentine table for the shop. it’s subtly suggestive of valentine’s day—not overtly.

a table for two.

set with the plates from comptoir de famille—a charger from the mary carol collection.

a petite fondue set in the center for dessert.

plates at the ready for the fondue and coffee.

another angle on the table . . .

the tablecloth is actually a throw.

the linen blend napkins are a generous 20x20 in size.

note the cute tomato salt and pepper.

love this la brasserie flatware.

so there you have my bistro table set for two.

i've set-up a new site where you can buy many of the items I feature on my blog. if you're interested click here.

thanks for your indulgence.

some last minute table ideas

If you haven’t figured out what to you’ll use to set your holiday table, please allow me to offer the following suggestions:

These are great appetizer plates or they work well to set the table as a salad plate layer.

You can mix them with your everyday dishes—like these green dishes, made in Portugal (don’t you love the simple detail on the rim?) and/or the gold tone dishes.  The placemats and napkins are a great –Christmas-y in color, but they also have that bird theme we love so much.

The bundle of vintage flatware helps to capture the glimmer of the gold-toned plate.

Here I show my personal favorite black and cream winter theme plate on a square embossed dish—also trimmed in black.  A nice simple look which could carry you from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day.  The dinner plate has an embossed bird pattern—very subtle.

There are three others in this collection—I couldn’t possibly limit myself to just one!  You’ll also find an elk, wild hares and a squirrel.  The flatware offers enough elegance for your finest china, but can be used for casual settings as well.

Here I’ve started with a basic brown and cream transferware pattern from Mary Carol Garrity.  The dinner plate has a farm scene, while the salad plate has a gardeners scene—again, there are four different patterns.  The flatware has brown handles.   These are perfect for everyday, but I wanted to show how I would dress them up for the holidays.

I thought I’d go with a red charger, to really make things pop.  Don’t you love red with chocolate brown?

Then I added another layer using the gold toned plate I used in the earlier settings.  Notice how it really brings out the browns, though.  Instant elegance with your everyday dishes!

Then I took it one step further with this simple pine and berry wreath.  We’ve used these things everywhere in the the store—on the back of dining chairs and looped three together in a vertical row.  The ideas for this basic accessory are limitless!

Well, the ideas could go on and on, but I’ve got to get this posted and get on with my own preparations for Christmas.  I’m going to post this on Tablescape Thursday, so be sure to peruse the other posts there for more inspiration.

I wish you the Merriest Christmas and hope you spend it with those you love!

Thanks for your indulgence!

The Glitter Tree

We’ve always had a “glitter tree” in Hodgepodge.  The ornaments from Wendy Addison for Midwest—Seasons of Canon Falls are my favorites (no big surprise), but every ornament on the tree was selected for the qualities it brought to the  tree. 

Love this pipe cleaner snowflake!

A pearl filled dream.

A Wendy Addison design.  “Nest.”

The glass glitter, mixed with real silver is so appealing!

A beautiful star.

“Peace on Earth”

My favorite glitter, glass Wendy Addison bird!  Isn’t she beautiful?

What can I say?  So simple and special.

A beautiful porcelain cross.

A classic church.

More Wendy Addison glitter—a peace dove.

A sphere of wire is the perfect accent to slide over the bulbs of your string lights—they come in a pack of nine.

Here’s a mercury glass finial with icy accents.

A snow-covered, silver pinecone.

A simple, inexpensive leaping reindeer . . .

More glitter, with a greeting!

A glitter crown to accent your tree or decorative vignette.

A silver and glitter pine-look pik adds a a lot of dimension to the tree.

A grouping of glitter snowballs. (do you see a theme developing here?)

A trio of mercury glass finials.

A Paris memory.

A snow fairy under a cloche.

Mercury glass pillars, a platinum hops garland surround the fairy on this mantel display.

This beautiful Santos-style fairy queen holds court on the mantel, as well.

I added one of these beautiful bottle brush wreaths to my own home décor last year.

This little beauty is actually about 2 1/2 feet tall—a wood cut-out with an easel support on the back—she would look lovely at your front door, next to your fireplace or along side of her Father Christmas counterpart, seen here in this post.

Beautiful vintage-style, mirrored ornaments.

Mercury glass ornaments are so classic and lovely.

These beautiful, hand-beaded mini candeliers look great on the the tree—use battery operated votive, please.

These appetizer plates from the Mary Carol Collection are perfect for your table from Thanksgiving through all of the winter months.  You’ll find snowy scenes including squirrels, pheasants, hares and a buck.  They’re displayed on our exclusive reproduction platter rack.

I think I have one more tree to show, but it’ll have to wait until after I show you my new stairwell décor.  After our fire last year, I had to throw-out all of my old stairwell decorations—so I want to show you what I put together to replace it.

So, until then, I thank you for your indulgence!

PS  I’m linking to Vintage Inspired Friday again—as there is no denying that most items I’ve shown here are inspired by vintage designs.  We can’t always find the vintage pieces we we’d like to have for our homes, but with talented designers like Wendy Addison and Mary Carol Garrity, we can have the next best thing . . . Vintage Inspired décor.