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Lace overlay tablescape with Aristocrat dinnerware

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Janet

I’ve wanted to try a lace overlay tablescape for awhile now – they look very elegant to me, and I’ve come across some beautiful examples recently. But I haven’t been able to find a suitable lace tablecloth while thrifting, so I recently decided to purchase something inexpensive on Amazon just to give the look a try. (You can find the one I purchased here – Partisout Vintage Lace Tablecloth (affiliate link) – it was inexpensive enough that I expected to be disappointed, but I was actually quite pleased with it. More about that in a moment!)

The solid-colored tablecloth was a thrifted find several years ago – it is a beautiful, deep cranberry color with a subtle fruit-and-leaf pattern. For this table I needed something that would complement the red band in the dinner and bread/dessert plates. With the cranberry color being diluted by the overlaid lace, I think it worked really well.

Dinner and bread/dessert plates are Aristocrat by Salem Century (Ebay finds), and the salad plates are thirfted Bancroft by Noritake.

Flatware for this lovely table is silverplated Flair by 1847 Rogers Brothers. I received this lovely set from my grandmother, which she had received as a wedding present.

For glassware, I’ve paired Dublin by Godinger (an Amazon purchase you can find here – Dublin water glasses by Godinger – affiliate link) and vintage thrifted King’s Crown with cranberry rim.

Centerpiece elements were all thrifted and include an antique bone china biscuit jar, vintage silverplate candlesticks, and vintage Henley/Oneida salt and pepper set.

Earlier I mentioned that I really ended up liking the lace overlay tablecloth from Amazon. My expectation was that it was going to look and feel cheap, and that the white would be too bright for the table. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft and delicate it was, and also at how much the bright white was toned down once it was laid over the red cloth.

Here are a few shots in candlelight, which was also quite lovely.

Here are the birdseye view and the put-away shot!

Finally, here’s an image to Pin if you would like to save this post for future ideas!

I’ll be sharing this post for Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch, hosted by longtime blogger Susan. Be sure to click through for more tablescape inspiration!

Meanwhile, for even more tablescaping ideas, be sure to check out the Thrifty Tablescapers group over on Facebook, where members share tables created with thrifted and other secondhand finds!

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I made Semi-Edwardian Orange Rum Cake

Posted on December 28, 2025 by Janet

Some time ago, I discovered – through the magic of Internet-based television – a British food/history program called Royal Recipes. In the show, journalist Michael Bourke explores recipes that have been prepared for British royals, ranging from the Tudor period to present day.

In one of my favorite episodes, he discusses with chef Anna Haugh the difference between a dessert called a Baba and one called a Savarin cake. They prepare what is essentially an orange rum cake – a favorite of Edward VII, who was King from 1901 – 1910. (He put the “Edward” in “Edwardian!”)

The finished cake looked amazing and I wanted to try to make it, but the show doesn’t provide recipes or even amounts for any of the ingredients – it’s more of a history program than a cooking show. So I went to Pinterest where I found several recipes for babas, savarin cakes, and orange rum cakes… and ended up combining and adapting a few different ones for the cake, the sauce/filling, and the glaze. I’m sharing the plan I eventually put together, and the many challenges I had making it!

Now bear in mind, this is historically a ring cake, today made even more elegant by using a bundt pan. But I didn’t have a bundt pan, so I used a springform pan. Thus my cake looks nothing like the bundt versions. Also, because I wasn’t using the called-for pan, my baking time was way off from what was stated in the cake recipe. The only downside to this, other than my patience wearing thin, was the deeply-browned appearance of my cake vs. the golden color of the bundt cakes. Happily, none of this mattered in the end because my cake was nonetheless delicious!

For this recipe you’re going to bake the cake, poke and drizzle it while warm with an orange rum sauce/filling, and then glaze it when cool with butter rum glaze. Here are the recipes for all three elements – using a bundt pan!

Semi-Edwardian Orange Rum Cake

For the cake:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons orange zest
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dark rum

Pre-heat the oven to 325 F. Spritz your bundt pan with a light coating of oil. (Tip: if your bundt pan is multi-faceted, like the one I eventually acquired, be sure your oil gets in ALL the crevices to avoid sticking.)

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the unsalted butter and the sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time; beat in vanilla and orange zest.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and rum, until all are thoroughly combined. Spoon into prepared bundt pan, and smooth the top. Bake 55-60 minutes until a knife inserted through the cake comes out clean.

Late in the baking stage, prepare the rum sauce as follows.

For the rum sauce/filling:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest

In a medium saucepan, heat and combine the sugar and butter. Stir in and combine the rum, orange juice, and zest. Heat thoroughly.

When the cake is done, remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Using a toothpick or knife edge, pierce the top of the cake all around then drizzle the warm sauce all over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Let the cake cool.

When cake is cool, use a serated knife to cut off/level any portion that has risen above the top of the pan. Once cut, invert the cake onto a serving piece that has a lip to catch any drips. Prepare the glaze as shown below.

For the final glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup dark rum

Warm all ingredients in a sauce pan and boil low for about 2 minutes. Pour the warm glaze over the cake so that some covers the top and some cascades down the edges. Do a final dusting with powdered sugar if you like.

I do now own a couple of bundt pans so I will likely try this cake again in the near future. But for now, my cake – being only 3 inches tall and deeply browned all around (though not burnt) made the most wonderful “wet sponge” sound when sliced, and had the most delicious orange-and-rum flavor.

So, even though it looks homely and inelegant, I have no regrets over the way this came out!

Pretty sure that party-boy Edward VII would have loved this cake even from a springform pan!

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Janet

Here’s hoping you have a lovely Christmas and New Year!

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Pink Christmas Fantasy tablescape

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Janet

I’m sure any person who loves setting pretty tables will tell you that the inspiration for a table design can come from just about anywhere: a china pattern, a holiday or special occasion, a color palette, even a piece of artwork. I was passing through one of my favorite thrift stores recently and found a single light pink drapery panel from the Shabby Chic brand. Lined and well-made, it was unopened in the original packaging and cost me a whopping $4.90!

This find set me to thinking about doing a pink and gold tablescape for Christmas, and was contemplating whether a faux-evergreen based centerpiece could be made to support the color scheme. Upon looking around my home for silk florals that might be incorporated into the centerpiece, I caught sight of my pink Christmas village and realized how perfectly it might be incorporated. I think it worked pretty well!

I had already begun gathering the china for “the stack” on this table, but switched out a different salad plate at the last minute with a bit of pink and gold Limoges.

The bottom plate is actually working as a charger here. These wide-shouldered beauties were thrift store finds several years ago – the backstamp does not give the name of the manufacturer so I don’t know who made them, but Google photo match suggests Royal China.

The dinner plate is Fireking’s Swirl pattern in milk glass. These were thrift-store finds. The salad plates are marked Theodore Haviland Limoges and have a pretty pink floral pattern and double-banded gold edge. They were acquired from a local seller who was liquidating an extensive Limoges collection several years ago.

Flatware was also second-hand. It is electroplated Americana Golden Heritage by International Silver.

Glassware includes hand-painted water goblets in a pretty Poinsettia design, and Cristal D’Arques “Longchamps” wine glasses. All were thrifted finds in the past few years.

Napkins were purchased specifically for this table from Amazon (thank you, next-day delivery!) , but I am glad to have them for any gold-themed table I might do in the future! They’re not high-end, but that just means I won’t cry if they get irreparably soiled. (Affiliate link; if you purchase through my link it costs you nothing extra but I do earn a small commission which helps with blog-hosting fees. Thank you!)

As for that fluffy, frothy pink centerpiece, here it is!

Several years ago, I collected a few Christmas village buildings from various thrift stores and painted each one in pink chalk paint. I then used Mod Podge to adhere pink glitter to the rooftops. I always stage it on a bed of pink feathers (actually two boas purchased at Hobby Lobby), so I decided to use those in the tablescape as well. Thrifted pink tapers and votive holders, tiny pink bottle brush trees from Dollar Tree, and battery operated tea lights from Amazon (affiliate link).

Here are a few more views around the table!

Here’s the birds-eye view…

… and a few candlelight shots because it looks soooo beautiful!

Finally, here’s the put-away shot, showing everything that was used to create this sweet, pink and gold fantasy tablescape:

And of course, an image for Pinterest in case you’d like to save this post for future tablescape inspiration!

I’m sharing my Pink Christmas Fantasy tablescape over at Susan’s blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for the 900th Tablescape Thursday – be sure to click through for more tablescape inspiration!

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Translucent orange slice Christmas tree

Posted on December 21, 2025 by Janet

Dried orange slices have long been a popular way to add natural decoration to a Christmas tree or evergreen boughs. Whether hung individually or strung in a draped garland, they bring bright translucent color and sweet citrus scent to the tree and surrounding space.

It turns out I haven’t quite perfected the method of drying orange slices, but this year I did try to make a small set that was also sugared. I don’t own a food dehydrator, and I barely have the patience for them to dry in the oven – let alone simply air-dry. So my individual ornaments turned out a little wonky, but I think the overall effect is very pretty on this scroll-work tree.

To create the slices, I cut two oranges into slices approximately 1/4-inch thick, but my slicing was uneven and inconsistent. You could do better using a mandolin slicer, but I encourage you to handle that particular tool with extreme caution. I laid the slices out on parchment paper and baked in an oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, tuning them every half-hour for about 5 hours. When I ran out of patience for this method, I let them sit out overnight for a bit more air-drying.

I then brushed each one with Mod Podge, and sprinkled with large-crystal sanding sugar. I allowed the first side to dry before turning them over to sugar the second side. My sugaring skills, also, are imperfect.

The metal tree itself was a happy score at an antique mall and only cost $8.50 after a storewide discount. I didn’t have a plan for how to decorate it at the time I bought it, but the concept of the orange slices with little red bows came to me while I was working on the slices. The gold bead garland was already in my Christmas decor stash. I love the overall look!