The Secondhand Table : Springtime
Hi All! How is everyone hanging in there? There is so much fear and uncertainty in the world right now, and I am welcoming any and all distractions to keep my spirits up. When my friend Rachel suggested that we do a Springtime version of The Secondhand Table, I jumped right in! What better time to take on the challenge of creating a tablescape entirely out of secondhand, foraged, and repurposed items when the stores are closed, we’re all home, and all we have is whats around us. I was looking for a creative outlet, and this was it!
If you’re here from Ally’s page - welcome! Wasn’t her table so pretty?
For my table, I let the blooming branches dictate the color palette. Right now in New Jersey all of the Spring blossoms are in bloom and I was able to forage some peach blossoms, pear blossoms, red bud, and the last of my garden hellebores. The pinks, purples, and whites are just perfect together!
The dishes, napkins, napkin rings, candlesticks and vases are all GoodWill purchases. I miss thrifting at GoodWill so bad!
The glassware I have had for years - they are actually old Italian wine bottles that we cut in half. The tumbles were the bottle bottoms, and the goblets were the tops! I love the green color and they make great conversation pieces.
I have been baking up a storm around here and definitely working on my “quarantine 15.” These almond buttercream cupcakes were so delicious! The recipe is listed below. I dressed them up with sugared pansies that were so easy to make! Simply brush the pansies with egg whites, sprinkle with fine sugar, and let them dry on waxed paper overnight.
Why let a pretty table (and cupcakes) go to waste? My girls dressed up and had themselves a little tea party!
A Secondhand Table that doubles as a playtime activity? Yup! Everybody was happy.
Almond Cupcake Recipe
We were fresh out of vanilla extract, so I used almond extract instead. WOW! I’m never going back to vanilla again, because the almond flavoring was delicious!
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Whisk together dry ingredients
In a separate bowl or the bowl of a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the melted butter and then the almond extract.
While mixing slowly, add half of the flour mixture. Then add all the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture; be careful not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in a lined cupcake tin.
Bake 18-20 minutes and then top with almond butter cream. (not sharing my butter cream recipe because it needs work)
Now head on over to my friend Rachel’s blog, Cherry Street Blossoms to see what she put together on her front porch! Knowing her, it’s going to be amazing.
Please be sure to check out the other tables set by my talented friends below and the Instagram hashtag #thesecondhandtable !