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3 Ideas For Your Valentine’s Tablescapes

Writing about Valentine’s tablescapes is not easy for me to do right now, but I will try.  I have been very stressed lately, so I will use this opportunity to disconnect and talk about Valentine’s Day, because love is the answer.

So, I wanted to come up with three table settings to inspire your Valentine’s dinner. My favorite thing about entertaining is finding creative ways of decorating the table. See here, here, and here. I enjoy doing that a lot more than cooking, as you can see. Here are some ideas for your romantic dinner – homemade or takeout-.

Let’s get started

Whimsical Tablescape

In my dictionary purple is whimsical, wouldn’t you agree? Here are 4 tips to get the Whimsical Tablescape look.

1) Get a colorful tablecloth – velvet preferably. I bought this dark purple velvet at a fabric store and then used it as tablecloth. It turned out pretty cute, fancy, and luxurious.  2) Get colorful dish plates. Good news is that Valentine’s dinner is usually for two people only (maybe?) so you can go a little fancy with your dish selection. 3) Get candles. Candles turn a normal dinner into a romantic one in seconds. Buy some colorful candles that match the rest of your table setting.
4) Colorful wine glasses. These pink wine glasses with the gold rim are so cute, aren’t they? I like how they look with the purple around them. We can NEVER have enough pink and purple in our lives!!!!

Boho Tablescape

I think this one is my favorite table setting because it is the most creative and eclectic. Here are four tips to get the look: 1) Use textiles as tablecloth. There is no end to all the textiles we can use for the table! This is a handmade textile I bought in Chile.2) Mix metallics. This copper flatware looks great next to the gold rim bowl and plate. The plate was a thrift store find that I also used here. 3) Choose a surprising napkin color. These teal napkins are a nice contrast to the red colors of the tablecloth and flowers. 4) Pay attention to the flowers. There is no need to spend a lot of money in flowers. Tulips are in season right now. The good thing about tulips is that they command attention and they come in a lot of different colors. I like how, in this table setting, they complement the red color but also add touches of yellow.

Rustic Tablescape

Here is to simplicity!

4 tips to get the Rustic table setting look: 1) Let the wood shine. Rustic is natural. Don’t use tablecloth if you have a wooden table, instead, use a runner like this one. Simple and cute.
2) Decorate with succulents. Grab any succulents in your home and use them as decorations for the table. Cheap and E-A-S-Y!


3) Forget about red. I decided to use blue napkins for this tablescape. The plates are a thrift store find. i love them so much. The cocktail shaker is from Anthropologie.
4) Add a neutral wine glass. This wine glass is precious. Neutral but elegant.

(No affiliate links in this post because who has time to sign up for all those affiliate programs??? I will soon, though.)

Thanks for reading! I hope you got some good inspiration for your Valentine’s dinner.

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thanksgiving table

Thanksgiving Table Setting Inspiration

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We host Thanksgiving every year and we love doing it.

Before kids, we used to host 20-30 people in our home. It was a big party for all of our single and “orphans” friends in LA, meaning our friends who had no family to spend Thanksgiving with. We cooked, drank, and ate all day. It was fun, so much fun.

Now that we are real life adults (see my passport), things have changed. Thanksgiving has become a lot more professional. Stakes are high. Food is gourmet. Decoration is important.

In recent years, we have been roasting a pig in the backyard and smoking the turkey (have you tried smoked turkey? It is the BEST way of cooking a turkey – Seriously). Everybody brings something really good to eat. We are talking about our version of epicurean food: crafted drinks, fancy appetizers, tasty side dishes, and wonderful desserts.

As always, I am in charge of decorating the table. I take my job VERY seriously. With months of anticipation I come up with ideas that I try out before the big day. I posted about our last year’s table decoration here.

For this Thanksgiving, I want to have an eclectic mix of vintage dishes. I like the mismatched look of dinnerware, so I have been going to the thrift store often to search for possibilities. To nail a good mismatched setting, you need to choose a “theme” for your plates. You can’t just buy random dishware and expect it to look good. I decided to go with off-white, pastels, and gold plates. Once you choose your “theme,” it is easier to focus and find the right pieces, but it takes time and a lot of trips to the thrift store.

This last weekend, I did a run through of our table decoration to look at colors and decide on the final setting. Here are some photos if you wish to see.

I went for a vintage and golden look. My main goal was not to spend too much money buying table decorations (aside from the plates which you can buy for cheap at the thrift store). I used décor from around the house and bought a couple of flowers at the farmers market. Here is the result:

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I have been collecting serving plates for a while, so it is easy for me to find cute pieces for the table. The same goes for flower vases. I am vase hoarder.

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OK, so that is the general idea. What do you think?

Also, a post about a vintage inspired brunch, and what we did for Thanksgiving last year. Thanks for stopping by!

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A Naked Cake And A Baby shower

jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake12We threw a baby shower for my friend Maureen on Sunday. It was an intimate affair. Only 6 women from different ages and backgrounds talking for 4 hours non-stop. It was beautiful and reinvigorating to talk with smart ladies while eating good food  surrounded by flowers.

We baked a naked cake for the event, and by we, I mean my friend Janna. I was there to witness and take photos of the process and was surprised at how easy it was to make. Here are some photos of how she did it:

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We had so much work to do that we took the easy route and bought cake mix. Janna divided two boxes in 4 different layers that were baked separately. The frosting was home made though. She used this recipe.

jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake11 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake10jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake9 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake8You need to cut the top of the layers after baking them so they are flat and easier to stack on top of each other. Add frosting and keep on adding layers. We added fruit to the cake for flavor and freshness. jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake7jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake6 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake5 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake4jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake3jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake2The last layer of the cake needs to be upside down so the top of your cake is brown and with no imperfections. Fill up the gaps with more frosting, decorate the top, and you are done! I used dahlias for decoration. So easy and beautiful.
jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake12 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake13jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake18 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake17jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake16 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake15 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake14jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake22 I went to the flower market in DTLA to get materials for the flower arrangements. I love the flower market so much. My favorite place in DTLA, for sure. Here are some photos of the arrangements I made. jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake21 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake20jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake28 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake27 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake26 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake25jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake35 I didn’t take many photos of the buffet table and the event. I didn’t allow enough time for a proper photo shoot before the baby shower started and I wanted to enjoy the company instead of taking pictures, but here you can find some of the ones I was able to take. jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake34 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake33 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake32jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake39 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake38 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake30This watermelon, tomato, mozzarella, and sage salad was so good. I have tomatoes growing in my backyard and they made this salad very delicious. jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake37 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake31 jestcafe.com-babyshower-and-naked-cake36I used succulents as the table centerpiece. Bought small bowls, filled them with succulents and voila, all done.

Hope you like the photos.

Also, a post about a flower workshop, a vintage inspired brunch, and a wreath making party.

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