Come sit with me for awhile…
and see what I’m bringing to the table

On Mother’s Day in particular, all mothers want, need, and yearn for is the warmth of childhood memories of family gatherings that scream hearth, home, love, safety, and last but certainly not least … acceptance.

To me earthenware, tin dishes, old tea towels for napkins, and old fashioned pressed glassware, used to serve the generally inexpensive, and/or local wine, screams of a lay back, comfy, unpretentious, down home, comfort food gathering, indicative of Mother’s Day .  .  . BUT .  .  .

Yesssssss .  .  . there is a BUT .  .  .
because .  .   . life would be very boring, and  ho hum  if .  .  . I always stuck to the rules .  .  . of design that is .  .  .

Now here is your big question for this holiday. Do you travel down a country road, layered with soft well used linens, tried and true matching Sunday dinner dishes, or do you step it up with what I refer to as urban shabby, one plate per place setting of your tried and true, (NOT necessarily the same plate size for each place setting), and go for the gusto. . . Bring a stack of mismatched plates to the table and start CREATING!!!

Taking what I already have and reinventing it isn’t just fun but a full blown party, complete with all the bells and whistles I can dream up.

The point of this column is to once again tell you to .  .  . STEP OUT OF THE BOX !!!   Come on I know you can do it .   .   .  all it takes is just one little itsy-bitsy step .   .   . honest .   .   .  after that first baby step, you’ll be off and running. I promise you will  never ever look at your dishes/china, glasses, silverware and decorative pieces the same way again. Go ahead take that step .   .   .  I know you want too.

The stacked glasses, in the photo above are a mere example of what can be pressed (no pun intended) into service, while still using your ‘not so earthy’ dishes, and stemware. I personally use these and other short glasses that I have acquired, for red wine, along with a very tall generous sized water goblet.

Layer, Layer, Layer !!!

Different heights .  .  . Different textures .   .   . Go ahead throw caution to the wind!!!

To further play up the use of these short glasses, fill extras with 1/4” of water* and a votive, light and watch them play off the various colored glasses.  Sit back and see how simple things can magically be transformed from.   .   . ho hum to hmmmm!

*The water makes for an easy cleanup. You can substitute t-lites for votives, however, t-lites don’t burn as long as votives. Remember to trim the wick to between 1/4″-3/8” before each burning.

Till next week…

Sharon Insul is the former owner of the popular Beverly Hills boutique Candle light and…

WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS and QUESTIONS  .   .   . sharons3@me.com

When using candles for your celebration… remember to trim wicks to between 1/4-3/8” before each burn.

Please burn candles responsibly…