RJ Treleaven

Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Happy Pinktober, My Lovelies! I hope you are having a lovely October so far. Today I'm participating in a Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by the Lovely Rita from the Panoply Blog.

Thank-you, Rita, for organizing and hosting these tablescape blog hop parties throughout the year. You do an excellent job, and I always look forward to them.

This year my theme is "Happy Pinktober" for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I would like to invite you personally for tea and pink, strawberry-flavored petits fours.

I'm a breast cancer survivor, and I'm so thankful for early detection, my tumor board, chemo nurses (who are angels on earth), and God, who Heals us of all our diseases (Psalm 103:3).

I'm using some of the same decor from last year, and I've add a couple of elements to it as well. First let's take a look at my plate stacks:

The bottom plate is Venetian Lace, and the top heart-shaped plate is in the Rosy Check.

The napkin is from Shabby Chic, and the ribbon napkin ring is from LoveShackFancy.

Many of the decorations on the table are from Michael's Enchanted Forest collection from last year. I purchased a few things like the botanical candle holders at the end of the season.

The candle holders might be my favorite from the Enchanted Forest collection.

The table has two pumpkins on it, and both are pink.

Top to bottom:

The white florals are in a vintage crystal vase. The Rosy Pink check pumpkin is from MacKenzie-Childs.

I like the witch's broom from the Enchanted Forest collection, too.

The pink floral pumpkin is actually a pillow from LoveShackFancy.

The large Think Pink roses are from Trader Joe's. They opened-up so prettily!

Here are some more of the details, top to bottom, left to right:

I love the flowers with the collection. They have pretty butterflies and incandescent orbs in the arrangements.

The "Freaks like me drink tea" teapot always makes me smile.

The roses and spiders' webs trays with metal lacework are fun, too.

I love mushrooms, and the beaded mushrooms in the collection were a must. The white violets are my sorority's flowers. Our philanthropy is breast cancer education, and the peer pressure of mammogram reminders from my sisters saved my life.

I have pink votives and roses on the table for Pinktober, and the specimen test tubes add mystique to the enchanted table theme.

Pink petits fours are festive for our tea party.

I hung bunting that has "Happy Halloween" on one side, and a pretty floral print on the other side. I am enjoying it while in my art studio.

I also decorated our Welsh dresser with pink ribbons and pink moths that coordinate with the butterflies and colors on the dining table.

Resources:

Many of the elements on the table and Welsh dresser are from Michael's Crafts. Assume something is from Michael's unless otherwise noted.

Moths on Welsh Dresser: Moth and Myth

White tablecloth: Williams-Sonoma

Ruffled and crochet-edged table runners and napkins: Shabby Chic

Napkin rings, Halloween bunting, and stuffed pumpkin: LoveShackFancy

Venetian lace plates: Juliana Collection

Rosy Check heart plate, pumpkin, and creamer and sugar set: MacKenzie-Childs

Pink wire coasters: World Market

Crystal vase: Vintage American Brilliant Cut Ruffled Edge Vase

Small pink votives, pink salt votive holder, and white violet: Leaf 'n Petal

Roses: Trader Joe's

Spoons: Horchow

Blog Hop Participant Links:

Panoply - Spellbound Halloween Tablescape

Home is Where the Boat Is - Stay for a Spell

Everyday Living - Fo(u)r the Love of Treats

Hyacinths for the Soul - "Caw, Caw" ~ Spread Your Wings for Halloween

Me and My Captain - Harvest Moon? We Have A Ghost Of A Chance To See It Tonight!

Life and Linda - Haunted Manor of Dark Secrets

The Little Yellow Corner Store - A Witch's Brew Tablescape

My Thrift Store Addiction - Frightfully FAN-tastic Wine and Cheese Buffet

The Cat's Whizkerz - We're All Batty Here

Red Cottage Chronicles - Spooky Halloween with Cheesecloth Ghosts

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - A Little Bit of Ghoulish Glamour

Olla-Podrida - A Hauntingly Charming Halloween Tablescape for Two

The Bookish Dilettante - Happy Pinktober Tablescape

Since I am the last link for this blog hop, please take this time to call and make an appointment for a mammogram if you have not had one during this past year. Early prevention is key for your survival.

Until next time...

Happy Pinktober!

Ricki Jill

Happy Pinktober Tablescape

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Happy Halloween, My Lovelies! The spookiest time of the year is right around the corner, and we're celebrating it today with a Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by My Friend Rita from the Panoply Blog. If you're hopping in order, you just left Sweet Jenna's blog, The Painted Apron. Thanks for visiting my little corner of the Interwebs!

Thank-you, Rita, for hosting these blog hop parties. They are always so much fun!

You've been cordially invited to step back in time and have tea in Madame Mathilde's Victorian home, specifically in her Room of Curiosities. The Victorians loved collecting curious things from nature and their travels, and they often dedicated entire rooms to these pursuits. Madame Mathilde collects many specimens from nature (she adores mushrooms and moths), and she also dabbles in the occult like many of her fellow Victorians.

This evening, Madame Mathilde is excited to show you a few of her most recent finds over tea and macarons. It's time to step inside her room of curiosities.

What type of tea would you like? Are you requiring a Love Potion or a Witch's Brew?

Do you take cream and/or sugar in your tea?

You're offered four different types of macarons: Coffee, Earl Gray, Vanilla, or Caramel.

As your enjoying your tea, Mathilde begins to show you a few of her latest acquisitions.

The florals in the Room of Curiosities are interesting. The magical white blossoms seem to attract rare butterflies, and the gray roses are ghostly and mysterious.

Madame Mathilde found the witch's banner and broom on a recent sojourn to Scandinavia.

She also has a few specimens from nature displayed in test tubes.

Clockwise from upper left:

Madame Mathilde has displayed several curiosities under glass cloches, from mushrooms to these Pearls of Wisdom and Kindness Dust she found in a dusty corner of The Cotswolds.

More flora specimens in a bowl

Ghostly books containing tales of wonder

A close-up of kindness dust and a miniature scene with swans

As dusk turns to evening, Madame Mathilde lights candles, and one of her cloche's contains real fairy lights. What looked enchanting in the daylight looks downright haunting at night.

As Madame Mathilde shows you the last of her curiosities, you notice your movements have become languid. It's definitely the bewitching hour, and you need to make your leave cordially and quickly!

I hope you ~~escaped~~ enjoyed your visit with Madame Mathilde! During the summer, I was thinking about what I might want to do for this hop because we really don't have a lot of Halloween things. One day I was in Michael's crafts buying a few art supplies when I noticed they had both a dark academia and light academia collection entitled "Haunted Forest." I was smitten with the light academia version! Most of the things on the table are from the collection, and I also love the Victorian/haunted mansion vibes and the butterflies, moths, spiders, and other natural elements.

Resources:

I'll list the things from Michael's first: Round metal cutwork trays; witch's broom; test tube display; teapot; teacups; green mushrooms under cloche display; pink mushroom stand under large cloche; butterfly specimens; pink organdy ribbon; large white floral sprays with butterflies and clear bubbles; vellum to turn books into "ghosties"

Plate containing floral specimens and white candlestick: MacKenzie-Childs

Salt and pepper set: Anthropologie

Terra cotta apricot rose candle: Shoppe, Birmingham

Votives: Leaf 'n Petal, Birmingham

Art pieces under cloche: White Flowers, Birmingham

Pink table runner: Sur La Table

White table runner: Shabby Chic

Plates and serving platter: Venetian lace by Rosanna

White velvet pumpkin: Hot Skwash

All crystal (vase, sugar bowl, and creamer), milk glass covered candy dish (from Patti) and napkins: vintage

Please be sure to visit the other stylists' posts! Me and My Captain is next!

Panoply - Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Home is Where the Boat Is - Pink, Eek and Ghostly Sweets

Hyacinths for the Soul - Tartan Spice is Very Nice!

Everyday Living - A Grand Halloween at Wood's Edge

Pandora's Box - A Halloween Alfresco Dinner

My Thrift Store Addiction - BOO-tiful Brunch Buffet

The Cat's Whiskerz - Butterflies and Skellies for a Halloween Tablescape

Karins Kottage - Spooky and Stylish: My Outdoor Halloween Tablescape

Thrifting Wonderland - Jellicle Cats Tablescape

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Happy Haunting

Life and Linda - Tea With Miss Pumpkinhead

The Painted Apron - A Frightful Night

The Bookish Dilettante - Halloween Tablescape Hop: The Haunted Forest *You're here!

Me and My Captain - What do Motorhomes, Autumn, and Pumpkins Have in Common

Dinner at Eight - A Shadow on the Floor - The Raven

Celebrating Everyday Life - Easy and Elegant Ideas for a Spooky-Pretty Halloween Celebration

Red Cottage Chronicles - Shadows of the Sky Halloween Tablescape

Happy Halloween!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Halloween Tablescape Hop: Haunted Forest

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Happy Literary Friday, My Lovelies! Today I'm sharing two books in a fun new series called the Ex Hex: The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling. Erin is an Alabama thriller and romance writer, and our book club leader chose The Kiss Curse as our October selection. The club read The Ex Hex last October. Both can be read as stand alone books, but I recommend reading The Ex Hex first because it's very cute!

Keep in mind that both books are romances and rated R for sex and language. (I assigned that rating....just giving you fair warning.)

I'm keeping both my reviews short because I'm tired, y'all!

According to Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

My Review:

Vivi knew better when she was nineteen: She knew to "Never mix magic with vodka." Her hex on her ex Rhys not only affects his magic negatively upon his return to Georgia, but also the magic of the entire town. Rhys is from a long line of powerful witches hailing from Wales, but that fact can't compensate for the hex, and he fails to renew the magic in the ley lines in Graves Glen. Vivi realizes the error of her ways, and she must work with Rhys to reverse the hex so he can restore the ley lines and the town's magic. I enjoyed the backstory of Vivi and Rhys's college romance and break-up. Both clearly loved the other then, and they still have feelings for each other in the present. I like both of their characters and their chemistry, but Rhys is a little flippant for me... but then again, he is the youngest son. (But he DOES act gallant and serious in the end.) Some of the secondary characters are intriguing, like Vivi's cousin Guinevere and Gwen's cat, Sir Purrcival. Sir Purrcival can talk, a "victim" of the town's broken magic. I don't like cats, but I must say I LOVE Sir Purrcival! This is a cute book, and it would be perfect to read for Halloween.

According to Goodreads:

Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.

When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.

My Review:

This was a fun book club selection, and we all enjoyed the book and the discussion. I like this one a little better than the first because Wells and Gwyn are such polar opposites! They're clearly attracted to each other, yet when they act on their attraction, each are erroneously convinced that it's magic, not attraction, driving their behavior. And their behavior is steamy, a little more so than Rhys and Vivi's so you've been forewarned! There are a couple of major mysteries in this edition: Why is Gwyn, a powerful witch, losing her magic? and What are the new witches in town up to? It's important to note that these particular witches were all expelled from the local Penhaven College (the magical department), and they were in Gwen's year so she knows them. The witches' showing up so shortly after the renewal of the ley lines (when they are at their most powerful) is worrisome. I admit that I figured out one of these mysteries quickly, but the other one shocked me because I was not expecting it. The best part of this book are three young witches who are also students at the college; Gwyn has agreed to take them under her wing by tutoring them. They're called "The Baby Witches," and they are the true plot drivers in this edition. Another fun element is Sir Purrcival's expanding vocabulary. This one is another cute Halloween romance to read this weekend.

What do you think? Are you interested in reading either one of these romances?

I'm also happy to report that there will be a Book #3 in the Ex Hex Series: The Wedding Wish! :D

Below is an IndieBound affiliate link which takes you to a search for Erin Sterling on the IndieBound site. Shop local!

Until next time...
Happy reading!Ricki Jill

Literary Friday: Halloween Reads

Friday, October 28, 2022

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies! Welcome to the Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by Sweet Rita @ the Panoply Blog. Thanks so much for hosting, Rita!

Full Disclosure: Halloween is not my favorite. As much as I love fall (all things pumpkin spice; apple cider donuts; football games; outdoor fires in our fireplace; fall festivals; and sweater weather), I do not like Halloween. The only thing I like about it is seeing the neighborhood children in their adorable Halloween costumes. That's about it.

I don't like Halloween because I don't like horror (I rarely read it), and I don't like the whole mindset of being scared.

I also don't like orange as a general rule. In our culture of Alabama football, the Third Saturday in October is the traditional date for the Alabama v. Tennessee game (which will be played in Knoxville this Saturday). Tennessee orange during the month of October in a Bama fan's home borders on sacrilege.

So what's a girl like me to do for a Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop? A theme that is loosely based on pumpkins: That will work! My theme is Midnight at the Ball, when Cinderella's coach turns back into a pumpkin. Obviously the Prince's ball occurred during fall, and pumpkins come in colors other than orange. ;P

Let's see how I put together this table's theme:

Mr. Bookish and I don't like tall centerpieces in the middle of our table because it's difficult to see over them, so whenever I arrange a tall floral arrangement, I place it at the end of the table. Sometimes I place them on the Welsh dresser.

I chose a white pumpkin for Cinderella's coach. Then I chose a pale, neutral tablecloth with white flowers on it.

There are a few other pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, above.

I chose white roses for the flowers, and eucalyptus for its blue tint, a compliment to Cinderella's dress.

The crystal on the table represents Cinderella's glass slippers.

My best friend gave us this crystal vase for a wedding gift. It is still a favorite, and it is super heavy.

The plate stacks include a charger, "midnight lace" dinner plates, and crown dessert plates fit for a prince. The gold napkins are a favorite fall color.