Today I’m featuring a tabletop that was recently published in Santa Barbara Magazine and Style Me Pretty Living. It was a collaboration with the always amazing Nancy Neil and super chef Ayda Robana of Om Sweet Mama.

We set a simple table; with a god’s eye patter runner from Heather Taylor Home and china and flatware from Botanik.

Simple salads, like the panzanella with Haricort Verts featured farm fresh ingredients (recipe for the salad is here).

Instead of traditional flower centerpiece, I opted to make a flower garlad to keep the vibe relaxed but still very pretty. To make the garland you will need:

2 bunches of bay (depends on length of table)

2 bunches clematis

1 bunch hot pink ranunuculus

1 bunch wax flower

Begin by simple laying the piece of bay leaves end to end. I created a zigzag effect here so you could see the pattern of the linen. Then I simply took the blooms of clematis, ranunuclus, and wax flower and tucked it into the bay. You can wire all these pieces together but its not necessary. And that’s pretty much it! You can see more of this table right here and here.

PS I apologize for my blogging absence. A lot if going in my personal life and I will blog about it once things are more settled. For now, posting will remain on the lighter side. Thanks for hopefully sticking around here and enjoying some pretty .

More Inspiration:

Interested in throwing a rainbow chic fiesta? Here are some rainbow inspired products that would set a pretty fun, and definitely colorful table:

More Inspiration:

I spent New Year’s Eve with a few close friends. We dressed up for the hell of it, drank whiskey out of decanters (left over wedding decor), Mira wore a sparkly necklace,  and we listened to lots of Kendrick Lamar. At midnight, we went outside and lit sparklers provided by Joy (left over from a wedding of her’s, we designers like to recycle). It was pretty much perfect.

I put off making resolutions because I wanted to marinate some ideas for a while and see what felt right. So here they are, in no particular order:

-Yoga, yoga, yoga. I’ve been going for almost a year to yoga soup (Jenni’s class) and I really want to master hand stand (I’m close) and scissors (a fancy pants arm balance)

-Ballet. I took classes on and off since I was 4 on and off but I haven’t been in well, more than a year. Time to dust off my tights and get going.

-Make pretty pictures + get crafty up in here. This is on going and last year I took the leap and started producing content for the blog. This year, I’m hoping to add video and more crafty goodness. Because, while I don’t blog about it often, I do a lot of craft projects for weddings and its high time I shared some of my tricks.

-Learn to stop judging my own self worth by the numbers… You see as a blogger, you hang your hat on page views, google rankings, twitter followers, facebook likes, pinterest followers etc etc. Its a very slippery slope when you can easily compare your numbers to the countless other bloggers out there. Its depressing and unhealthy and I need to stop it already.

-Break up with my phone. I’m making an effort to leave my phone at home when I go out to see friends or on errands. There’s no reason I need to check my email right-this-second, see how many re-pins I got, blah blah blah. Its not healthy for me mentally to always be linked in to work and I would much rather talk to someone, like in person, then email/tweet/facebook them. You know, actually socialize with people, not a monitor.

-Throw a party. A big one. Perhaps with some crafty or a flower arranging slant. Or maybe just drink wine and enjoy an al fresco dinner. I’m still undecided on this, I just think it would be fun to meet YOU and make some pretty things…

What are your resolutions? And what would you like to see more over here on the bloggity?

Photos: Top sparkler photo by Joy, all other’s via my Instagram (@kellyoshiro)

More Inspiration:

I  love an elegant holiday table and for this year’s inspiration, I was inspired by grey velvet, cotton (my stand in for snow which we very much lack in Santa Barbara), and of course deep red. Town & Country was once again kind enough to provide the rentals, including some fun new pieces I was very excited to use.

First up, the place settings. Here I used S.t Petersburg china paired with a Obscura charger which is clear with a thin silver rim. I paired it with elegant pearl handled flatware and feminine Cambria glassware.

For the arrangements, I used a wazon glass container and filled it with red cabbage roses, ranunuclus, cotton, brunia, stirlingia, and dusty miller.

In between, elegant taper candles added a traditional touch of elegance.

And finally, for chairs I used Town & Country’s new Cielo Blanco Louis Armchair. Here’s the rental cheat sheet for a party of 6 if you’d like to recreate the look at your own holiday dinner:

-6 Cielo blanco chairs

-1 8′ x 40″ table

- 8′ king drape

-6 obscura chargers, silver

-6 dinner plates, St. Petersburg

-6 dinner fork, salad fork, dinner knife, spoon

-6 red wine glasses, cambria

-6 water glasses, cambria

Special thanks to our sponsors Town & Country, Florabundance and Michael & Anna Costa!

And for more holiday table ideas check out:

Aqua & Red Holiday Table

Red & White Seersucker Holiday Table with Peanut Brittle Favors

More Inspiration:

To create yesterday’s thanksgiving centerpiece, begin with a shallow, oblong bowl.

1. Since this container is wood, line the bowl with a piece of plastic (a trash bag would work).

2. Then soak two bricks of floral foam and place on the top and side.

3. Cut a piece of floral foam in half, length wise, and wrap with aluminum. This is where your stack fresh persimmons will go (and guests can take if they want, which is why I wrapped that piece of foam in alumnium, nobody wants their fall fruit with bits of floral foam!).

4. Begin placing the persimmon branches and bittersweet to create the base shape of your arrangement.

5. Place your dusty miller to cover the foam and use floral picks to place persimmons at different heights.

6. Place your flowers at different levels, alternating dahlias, ranunuculus and brunia to create texture and interest. Rotate the container regularly so you can make sure you’re arrangement will look good all the way around.

7. Place a stack persimmons in the lower right corner to finish and you’re done!

You will need the following for your arrangement:

Flowers:

-1 bunch of persimmons on the branch

- 8 large persimmons

- 1 bunch bittersweet

- 3 bunches orange dahlias

- 2 bunches of dusty miller

- 2 bunches of ranunuculus

- 1 bunch brunia

Supplies:

- 3 blocks of floral foam

- floral shearers

- floral picks

-piece of plastic

Alternatively, if you’re a bit strapped on time, grab some persimmons, place them in a low bowl and entwine bittersweet around the fruit.  Happy arranging!

More Inspiration:

Its that time of year, Thanksgiving is a little more than a week away and it can be daunting to figure out the decor for your table in the midst of food prep and family arrivals. So to get you inspired, I used rentals from Town & Country’s new Santa Barbara location for those who want to add a bit of pizzaz to their celebration. But honestly, the best part of renting china/flatware/glassware? You simply have to rinse your plates, throw them back in their crates and Town & Country will clean up for you (heck while you’re at it, you might as well rent platters and serving utensils and really make a dent in your dishes pile).

For the table, I used their vineyard table, which has a rustic wood plank topic which is perfect for the season. For the centerpiece, the vineyard oblong wood bowl holds persimmon branches, dusty miller, bittersweet, whole persimmons, brunia, orange dahlias, and ranunculus (all flowers from Florabundance). The vineyard cane back chairs add a hint of elegance to the look.

I placed the  burlap wing backed paris chair to cap each end of the table.

At each place setting I used a Provencal plate (no need for a charger for a casual dinner), Riedel stemless wine glasses, fleur de lys glasses for water, and coppery Morocco flatware. Simple linen napkins in oyster are folded casually and placed under the flatware. And finally, a simple sprig of bittersweet graces each plate.

I then used some leftover bittersweet and ranunculus to make an impromptu mini garland.

Then I stuck a leftover ranunuclus in my hair and lit the silver and gold mercury glass votives from Jamali Garden. And stay tuned, tomorrow I will show you how to recreate the centerpiece for your own Thanksgiving table.

 And here’s a cheat sheet of all the rentals you’ll need for a party of 6:

2 Paris high backed chairs

4 vineyard cane backed chairs

6 provencal dinner plates

6 of each,salad fork, dinner fork, dinner knife and spoon in Morocco

1 6′ foot vineyard table

6 oyster linen napkins

6 fleur de lys water glasses

6 stemless riedel glasses

1 oblong bowl (for centerpiece)

Happy party planning!

*Town & Country, Florabundance & Michael & Anna Costa are sponsors of Santa Barbara Chic.

More Inspiration:

TGIF! As a bride-to-be, I am currently on a ruthless diet, and am often dreaming about the gluttonous foods and drinks that I would love to scarf down–this luscious libation is definitely at the top of my list! You better believe that I will be whipping some of these bad boys up on one of my cheat days!–totally worth every calorie. Enjoy!

Perhaps a crumbly biscotti for dipping and sipping? Yes please!

You will need:

A blender

Baileys Irish Cream

Vodka

Ice

Chocolate Syrup

Vanilla ice cream (I prefer french vanilla for this recipe)

*You really can’t go wrong with these ingredients as far as measuring goes. Some people like their milkshakes super chocolate-y and others want them extra thick. Add all ingredients in a blender, taste and add more of whatever you wish, and enjoy!

-XOXO Melissa

And to see even more On the Rocks cocktail ideas they’re right here.

More Inspiration: