Your CartOctober is the perfect time to entertain with an easy, beautiful buffet. At our home, John and I like to invite family or friends for a late afternoon party, as we can still enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres outside on the patio before it starts to get dark. Please join us!
When I entertain, I love having buffets, they are so easy to set up ahead of time.
I want the stage to be set so when guests arrive, they can see something beautiful, and know that we have prepared the scene for a fun evening! With autumn just around the corner, I decided on an apple harvest fall theme for our table. This wonderful linen tablecloth is a great beginning for any table or buffet setting. {for those of you emailing, YES! It will be available in my shop soon}
I used these adorable red checked country plates and cafe au lait bowls as my inspiration, and the red apples I bought at our farmer’s market piled in an antique ironstone compote added more red. I wanted a striking centerpiece, this red bucket with the hand painted #8 is perfect. Inside, I arranged greens from the garden together with a few stems of faux pepper berries that I love. {I wish I had real branches of those, but I don’t, and mixed in with the real branches, you can’t really tell!}
The pitcher with large red checks is perfect for serving hot caramel sauce for on top of the apple pie I’m serving along with the small Pumpkin Tarts.
A great believer in mixing antique, vintage and new for interest in your home and entertaining style, I served up the vintage silverware in an antique glass candy jar, with the dessert spoons being showcased by her smaller sister.
The antique ironstone sauceboat serves no other purpose but to be decorative, a bit of green moss and another apple together with some red berries that fell off a stem are all it needs to add a bit of fun to the table!
You know I love simple, easy to serve food most of the time. That way I can enjoy our guests, and I’m not fussing with the meal. Soup is more often than not on my menu in autumn, rounded out by one or two great salads, a cheese board, fresh baked French bread and baguettes from our local bakery, and a fantastic dessert with coffee.
The plates, designed in Europe, are perfect for this casual French Country table. I love red, not only is it my happy color, it works so wonderfully well for several holidays, and always brings cheer. Once my guests have arrived, all I have to do is add a big antique soup tureen filled with one of my “go to” soups, my two bowls of salad, the cheeseboard and apple pie, and I’m ready for a beautiful evening with lots of laughter with friends.
Thank you for joining us at FrenchGardenHouse for a casual evening of friends, food and fun! {find the French Country style dishes in my shop, just a few sets left to make your table happy. I wanted to give you all a heads up that soon I will be interviewing chef extraordinaire Lisa Hatfield Torres, she’ll be sharing an easy to make French treat with all of us. And best news yet…she has a BLOG! Please sign up to receive my blog in your email box, so you won’t miss anything.
So beautiful! I love the red bucket with the number 8 on it.
I absolutely LOVE all the Red! It looks so beautiful and fall-ish. That linen tablecloth is adorable.
Tammy and Penny, thank you for the visit. I’d love to have a fall dinner with both of you! xo
Just perfect! That bucket is to die for!
Stacey, you and I are fellow Red lovers, I know!
Lidy, this is so bright and fun! It is nice to see the red used for fall, I may have to copy your ideas for my next party !
always inspiring to see and read your post. Keep up the good work, I love the break in my day to stop by and see what you are up to.
Pam
Pam, thanks so much for your visit. I’m honored by your visits, I’m pretty sure your tables are legendary, so a compliment from you means a lot.
Lidy, Absolutely beautiful! Red is an instant happy color to set that festive fun mood. I love to serve buffets as a relaxed way to entertain. Looking forward to sharing some delicious French recipes with you all to enjoy through the holidays and beyond! xo Lisa
I agree, red is instant happy! I’m so looking forward to you sharing recipes, too Lisa!!
The red is so welcoming and I love that you used the glass containers for your flatware. Now I want to serve soup in a big tureen with some salad and baguettes! Yum!
Thanks for the visit, Donna! I hope that you do…serve up soup in that tureen and salad. Enjoy!
Lidy, red is my favorite color too! I love all that you have done. What a happy, informative and inspirational post this is! Now, I think I’ll have my own fall party and do it up in red! Blessings, Cate
Stacey, I think I wrote this to remind myself too! It’s always good to take a good look at how we are doing things, and remind ourselves that we were created to be our own, beautiful and individual self!
Love, love, love the red and white! This is so simple and beautiful. I love it all 🙂
I hope we have time to do something like that when we get back to San Diego and that Connie will hep me pull it off!! Love it – thanks… XXX Allison