BLUE AND WHITE

I just love

Don't you?


Changing the world into miniature...
One thing at a time.

Winter Wonderland... but no snow!

I do not like cooking. But I do like decorating, so when I knew we were expecting 30 people for Christmas Eve Dinner, I promptly delegated the task of cooking and started planning a Winter Wonderland around the pool.

The evenings are quite pleasant now, and even the mosquitoes venture out now that the nights are cooler.

Two days ahead of time, I started organizing the table decorations. When you are  satisfied with the objects you are going to use, it is so much easier to be more creative putting them together when laying the table.

We decided to have one single rectangular table instead of a few round ones, as this is a 'family'  dinner (albeit one extended 'ex-pat family'!).

I love using white, silver and turquoise.

Even though I started around 3 in the afternoon, the sun was starting to set very early, and I took a lot of photos even before the tables were finished, as I find the photos at night time never shows the colour and details well.

Even though I had plenty of help, carrying 30 table settings out of the house and to the pool took me ages, and then I can tell you that laying a table for 10 is MUCH easier than doing it for 30!

I added lots of little details in an attempt to keep it interesting.

It took me ages to decide where the trees were to be placed! And a very welcome breeze kept blowing them over (they are very light!), until my husband stuck them to the tiles with duct tape. That worked.

Try to pretend that you don't see the ladders and tripod, mosquito killer machine etc, but this was a work in progress.

I also tried to keep the people out of the picture, but I was not always successful! Perhaps you can see my son doing ninja kicks at the back somewhere.

This table is ready for the desert. There were also tables for the main dishes and coffee etc.

Soon it became dusk and as the sun was setting I took more pictures as the evening light can make interesting patterns.

The blue bowls on top of the serviettes were for salad which followed the soup.

Time to light the candles as the guests were on the way.

Candle light always cast such interesting glows on objects.

The night was a success. The food was cooked to perfection. From the two turkeys (my husband's speciality) to delicious side dishes (thank you to my friends!) and a variety of deserts. They all helped to make it a very special evening!

And I didn't have to cook (or burn) anything!

Anybody for MORE food or cake after Christmas lunch/dinner?

No?

Me too, I HAD ENOUGH!!!

Did you enjoy looking at my tablescape?

Then please feel free to leave a message.

I do appreciate it AND I read every single one!

If you have another minute to linger,

My New Years Wishes for you are HERE.

Back to Tablescapes with Susan...

A Birthday Celebration

It was the Robin's nest, discovered in the garden during the summer, that inspired the intimate Birthday Celebration. As a reminder, a small silver bird cage was placed on the centre table.
Invitations were sent out, the envelopes were Robin Egg blue.

The dishes were laid out, buffet style, on the tables against the walls of the conservatory.

Champaigne was kept on ice in a silver urn.

The stationery was at hand to write thank you notes for gifts bestowed...

It was a night to be remembered...

Changing the world into miniature...

One thing at a time

Back from the land of smiles...

NB Click on any of the images to enlarge



I am delighted to tell you that Thailand offers, besides fine weather and beautiful beaches, a wide variety of miniatures! But you have to be willing to do some footwork (I finished off 2 pairs of sandals on uneven sidewalks!), take the bad smells with the good, (Sidewalk restaurant versus open sewers!), and do plenty of haggling!


Nearly all of the miniatures available are objects relevant to the Thai lifestyle, or things they are familiar with. The blue and white are used as containers in shrines (holding flowers or incense etc) , and the pots, bottles and bowls are all paraphanelia related to their cooking and the food they eat, for instance food available at the roadside vendors.

Most objects are made really well, but not always to 1/12 scale, especially the food and plants. Western food are not made to the same quality as Thai food, so I bought only a few things 'western', (including oreo cookies twice the size it should be, see the display shelves in the photos at the bottom of this post, they are the same size as the doughnuts!). I did buy plenty of Thai food however...especially the sushi is divinely real.

I found a load of stalls at the Chachatuk weekend market, quite a few things at the Suan Long Night market, and there is an excellent little 'shop' on the 3rd floor at MBK shopping centre, but haggle hard, it is a bit pricey! Keep your eyes open, minis for sale everywhere but hard to find between all the other stuff. I even found urns at the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant's souvenir shop??? Makes no sense to me...

Oops, I knocked it off the real table=(

I found LOTS of Celadon as well!

A variety of animals... they are very cute! Most of the animals relate to the Chinese 'Year'

The baskets come in many shapes and sizes and so do the bamboo baskets and bowls. Made by nimble fingers!

The food vendors are found everywhere! Setting up an alfresco restaurant anytime of the day and absolutely anywhere! They are very popular with the Thai People, and during lunch break, even young executives can be seen eating from the collapsable table , perched on a plastic stool. The reason why you find a row of these bicycle carts, parked amiably alongside one another, is that they sell different foods. One might provide soft drinks, another juices, another meat kebabs, the list goes on. For every 'kitchen on wheels' you would need different pots, containers etc, and the little stall in MBK (3rd floor) sells ALL of these! Down to the plastic baskets! I considered for a moment to start collecting these too, but fortunately the feeling passed again when I realized I have enough on my plate as it is. Would be very cool though... perhaps one day!

The cakes were truly lovely, slightly over the top creations, but comes in many shapes and colours. They are true to size, the only trouble is which ones to buy. Oh choices! The ice creams were so adorable, but the cinnabuns (I think?) were a bit of a mistery for a while. (They came as part of a 'set'. I would not have bought them otherwise.)

The glassware was well made, but limited to a few things, and some specifically for the mini food vendor. The large glass jar for example holds something which looks like a stock (with plenty of spices added!), but I thought it could be used as a vase, or something.