Wow Deb, you went all out and it looks so gorgeous and grand !!

Very Nice. That must have been alot of work.
But it sure is worth it!

Wow!! Really nice.
How long did it take to do it?

It's lovely! I love the reindeer.

Looks fabulous, Deborah!

How was the party?

Really gorgeous! I particularly love the sideboard array and the tree in the upstairs landing, peeking through the banister.

I have a sense that having a celebration of any kind helps me get more grounded in my space. Just wondering how it feels to be there after two years. Hope you are feeling more at home...

Wowsers, everything looks so beautiful and festive! That's a Lot of work! Looks as if you enjoyed it immensely.

Elegant! very professional looking job...

How beautiful! I'm sure your home and festivities put everybody in wonderful Christmas spirit. Hope you got loads of compliments on your lovely home and holiday decorating.

Thanks for sharing. I was wondering how things were going for you, whether you worked yourself to exhaustion or had fun putting it together or both. Now you can relax a bit and enjoy your family Christmas.

Your home looks like it was on a Christmas tour, it is so lovely! I am sure it was a favorite on the progressive dinner! You have a gorgeous home with or without the decorations!

Wow Deborah! Your home looks amazing. You did a fabulous job.

Happy Holidays.

Boop

Wow, Deborah, your home looks lovely. The Christmas decorations make it even more special. You did a great job. Thanks for posting all the photos.

It looks gorgeous. I hope you were able to enjoy your party after all your hard work! I'm sure everyone was so impressed. Really looks wonderful

Deb, your house is beautiful and I love your china! I'm sure your sorority sisters had a wonderful time.

I'm curious, what is in the frames going up your stairs, it almost looks like strands of pearls?

Kat :)

Beautiful! I hope everyone oohed and aahed over it!

Beautiful, I love the garland.

Stunning! What are the small white flowers on the buffet made from? They look porcelain or ? Great job!

Very very pretty!

Great job! :)

Jan

Curiousity got the best of me so I decided to peek in from work and lo and behold I find all these wonderful compliments! Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it. It is always fun to show a final finished product to you guys:) The party was great, they all had a really good time and everyone absolutely loved, loved the decorations and my home. Needless to say I was totally floored because I am not the most confident decorator so I'm always second guessing myself.

We started just after thanksgiving as it took a couple of days just to get all the Xmas stuff we had upstairs.

Amysrq, great question. Honestly at first it was pretty overwhelming because this house is configured so differently from my last home and it felt like my things didn't fit, if you know what I mean. So many of the trees and other props sat on the breakfast room table for a week or so before I placed them. Then one day I seemed to get in a groove and things started to fall into place. This sorority gathering forced me to deal with my move finally and accept that Ohio is now my home and this house is our home. So yeah, it now feels like home. I will admit, I had a few meltdowns along the way but thanks to my DH and two friends, they got me through and it truly really feels like home now.

Awm03, you hit the nail on the head. I lived, breathed and slept getting the house ready for the last month and I am definitely tired :)

Lesmis, we have framed mirrors going up the stairs. I think what you are seeing in the mirrors is the gold beading that was threaded through the garland being reflected in the mirrors. BTW, someone posted recently about weaving two cheap pieces of garland together and then embellishing it. That's exactly what we did with the garland.

Upalazyriver, since I'm at work, I can't actually see my buffet but I can tell you that the goldish colored flowers are candle rings that I purchased years ago at a store called Fortunoff. I then added diamond shaped ornaments from Target (I cut the strings) so that they look like huge diamonds to give the space some sparkle. I finished up with very tiny diamond shaped graffiti that I purchased at Pier one. I sprinkled that throughout the table and buffet liberally so that when the candles are lit, the spaces would sparkle.

Well, I think that's it for now. Again, thanks so, so much for the vote of confidence!

Deb

Everything looks so festive and sparkly - I'd say you are going to have a wonderful party - very lovely!

Oh, I am so glad to hear that, Deb!

Just today, I was visited by the woman who helped me price all my "none-of-the-above" options with the builder. It has been 13 months since we moved and I just now let her in! The house still feels so half-baked to me, but it was definitely a turning point, whipping things into shape for her to come over.

It's a journey, isn't it?

Your home looks so lovely!

Lovely!

Looks great! I love seeing photos of your house. It's very warm and inviting!

She, I have to give you credit and a vote of thanks. I placed one of the trees on the pedestal and at first wasn't sure about it. My DH politely let me know that he didn't have a clue and the final decision would be mine. Then you posted your Xmas decorations including a tree on a pedestal and that was my stamp of approval and confirmation so thank you! That was another sign for me that I was on the right track.

It is a journey and it took this event for me to realize that. Thank goodness for it because I have discovered so much doing this party.

Deb

Haha, Deb! I wondered about my tree on the pedestal and thought the same thing when I saw yours!

I hope your lunch went well. :)

Stunning Deb! Well worth all your work in my opinion. I do have a question if you don't mind - can you tell me the pattern on your china. I am a dish nut and I do not have a set of "reds" and have been looking for some time. Your pattern is so beautiful and seems versatile enough that it could be used beyond Christmas. Thanks, Lynn

Lynn, thanks so much! My china pattern is Tennyson from Royal Doulton. I absolutely love it! I purchased the pieces from an outlet store because at retail pricing, it was way too expensive. I actually need to add some more pieces to the collection but I haven't found an outlet here in OH. I guess I will have to make a trip back to Jersey soon :)

Here is the link for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tennyson - Royal Doulton

Thanks Deborah, I just added the info to my favorites. I love the Christmas accent plate but at $68 each, it is too pricey for me. I will have to keep my eyes open - if I see them anywhere I will let you know.

I live in CT - just a "short" swim to LI! Where was the Jersey outlet if I may ask? Thanks again.

So Deb, what did you serve for your leg of the progressive lunch, and how many people were there? Also, how did you set up for traffic flow (serving space, eating space, etc.), and were you happy with how your house accommodates a party? (I always like to hear about the nuts and bolts of entertaining a crowd)

Lynn, I purchased my china at the Flemington outlets in Flemington, NJ but looking at the store locator, it appears the Flemington outlet is now closed. However, there are two outlets in NY and CT. Here is the information:

CT:
Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton
Clinton Crossings Premium Outlet
20-A Killingworth Turnpike
Suite 430
Clinton, CT 06413

NY:
Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
161 Marigold Court
Central Valley, NY 10917

Hopefully you are close to one of these outlets.

Awm03, there were close to 50 people and my course was soup and sandwiches. I must say that I was a bit nervous about serving soup to so many people but I didn't choose the menu. So I set up three serving stations, one for beverages, one for the sandwiches and a third for the soup. You can enter my kitchen from two different openings so I directed flow from the breakfast area starting with the beverages and then the guests were able to move on to sandwiches and then finally the soup. Here is a couple of pics of the serving stations (before food and platters). My friend gave me the good idea of covering bowls with tablecloths so that the heights of the platters of food would be elevated.

I removed all of my usual counter stuff to accomodate the stations. I also kept the island and the area where my hubby was standing clear so that people could talk to each other and have another area to congregate. In the end, the house actually works well for large crowds. Finally, I also added extra chairs to the great room and the breakfast room. My ottomans came in handy as extra seating.

One thing I had to do during the festivities was to tell the history of my family (me, hubby and DS) and the background on all the ornaments on the tree. That was fun and I was surprised that I had to hold back tears while doing it. During my presentation, I showed pics of our first tree, the first tree we had after my DS was born and pics of my DS's first christmas. So that was really special!

So here is what my kitchen typically looks like. Warning this is an old picture but wanted you to get the feel of the kitchen.

The counter on the back wall close to the DR was the soup station:

Serving Stations:

You house is lovely! You have some 'serious decorating skills'! I absolutely adore those curtains.

WOW! So warm and beautiful! What a fun party I'm sure. The serving stations are cool too.
What color is that yellow on your walls? It is so pretty.

Kjmama, the wall color in the major parts of the house including the great room is SW restrained gold. The color in the kitchen is SW harmonic tan I believe. Need to find my paintdeck to confirm. Idie, thanks so much!