[Brief soapbox speech: I think this is a group worthy of help because instead of waving signs and protesting at abortion clinics, they're helping women who have babies in concrete practical ways by cooking for them, buying diapers, gathering gently used clothes and furniture, and so forth. Actually helping mothers to take care of their children during pregnancy and early childhood equals supporting life in an engaged and responsible manner. End of soapbox.]
Anyway, when I arrived, each table was decorated in unique and spectacular fashion according to a theme. There was a "movie night" table with popcorn boxes and red-and-white dishes, for example. I thought the women who were table hostesses were amazingly creative and had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the party decorations. Again, this is not a skill set I possess, although I have the capacity to appreciate it. From a distance, perhaps.
This morning I was blog-browsing and was cross-referenced to Food Network regular Sandra Lee. As Matt and I gave up cable several years ago, we are not au courant on the current hosts. She has been sharply critiqued by a number of blogs whose opinions I generally respect so I went to her website out of curiosity. Lo and behold, the concept of the tablescape:
I find the concept of tablescapes both frightening and fascinating simultaneously. Coordinating dishes, table linens, centerpieces, pieces of craftwork, and so forth sounds like a lot of work. As someone who rarely ventures past the paper-plates-and-coordinated-paper-napkins aisle in Target in terms of this type of creativity, I feel a bit unqualified to comment. Is Sandra Lee filling an unmet need for women who want to decorate for parties and need ideas? Or is she wasting a lot of women's time?
For those of my readers who entertain: is there still a place in our lives for the well-set table? (Even if Lee's type of table isn't it?)
7 comments:
My problem with Sandra Lee wasn't the tablescapes (although I think humanity could have survived without the cocktail Christmas tree: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BhAOYtSB5SE ). My problem is with how truly horrendous much of her food is.
On topic, I like setting a nice table. However, I don't think much of the idea of putting huge amounts of time, effort, and money into executing different, elaborate table settings for every special meal. I'm not the crafty sort, though, so I can see how this can appeal to many women (and perhaps one or two men).
Let's see if I can create an active link to the Christmas cocktail tree. It's worth the extra effort.
I love a well set table, but that picture is most definitely not my definition of a "well set table". I love my china and my cloth napkins and classic, elegant touches to a table. But, like Cindy, I'm not especially crafty. At least not in that way. I'll stick to some nice candles for a centerpiece.
Sandra Lee makes me want to vomit in my shoes. Like Cindy said, her food isn't all that good, plus she spends more time and money on "tablescapes" than she does on actually making the food.
I, too, like a nice table setting with a tablecloth, napkins, and various other things. (Recently, I've used pinecones, lots of small candles, multiple, little vases of flowers, and little stamped place cards in the shape of leaves (the placecards were for Thanksgiving).) I certainly wouldn't spend time creating candy or cookie things to put on the table that 1) wouldn't taste good, and 2) would take space away from actual food.
Ooops, sorry as cyndif said, not cindy.
I like to decorate and I like parties but the Lee tablescape in that photo was scary to me. Not my style at all. I steer clear of cutesy birdhouses and pastels if I can!
Heather-I do have the artsy gene when it comes to creating the kind of "tablescapes" indicated, and admit to three or four times in my life putting forth the effort to create this type of scenery for those I loved (or needed to professionally impress). That said, I believe that it really comes down to a discussion of the necessity for art in life versus simplicity and functionality. I generally opt for simplicity and functionality because I also believe that the money spent on doing this setup would be better off donated to medical research, the homeless, etc.. However, a small part of me also appreciates the need for beauty in life, and thinks that at least once in her life, every woman should give herself the time and money to create her own vision of a table she can sit down and relax at. Jen
Post a Comment