Thanks and Giving: A Video with Southern Living

Gearing up for Thanksgiving y'all -- take a gander at this Farmer setting the table with my friends at Southern Living!

St. Philip and Thomas Jefferson – James Farmer and Maggie Griffin

A canonized evangelical and an American forefather aren’t often a likely pair, though the latter pair certainly is! I can always count on my dearest pal Maggie Griffin to be on board for fun! And I cannot thank her enough for all her planning and hard work too – she is always the best!!!

For this year’s Cathedral Antique Show, I was honored to be selected as a designer for ‘Inspiration Avenue’, which was a collection of fab folks and fellow designers who were all inspired by a historical character for which a room was designed. For this Farmer, ol’ TJ was top on the list – especially after my recent trip to Tuckahoe!

 

Maggie and I thought that Mr. Jefferson probably knew how to throw a great dinner party at Monticello. He would invite his friends such as George and Martha (Washington of course), John and Abigail (Adams of course) and James and Dolly (Madison mind you) to feast upon French fish plates he probably procured whilst serving as minster to France. TJ too probably sent back to his Virginia home some other trappings from France – maybe a tapestry, velvet mutton leg chairs and books too!

 

Other trapping may have been more aboriginal in nature or inspired there from. Lewis and Clark no doubt influenced the décor with renderings and artwork alike of the flora and fauna seen on their Jefferson commissioned journey across America. Too, I felt a nod to the recently succeeded from British Empire was still apropos, so an English oak and walnut dining table anchored the space.

 

Many eras influenced Jefferson’s lifetime including the ever en vogue dose of Chinoiserie as seen in the blue and white temple jars, lamps and décor on the Sheraton style sideboard. As Napoleon and the French empire grew across “the pond,” Jefferson and the world too were inspired and influenced by the empire style, which became quite popular in the American South. I loved that this inspiration point allowed me to use the “Napp Chest” that once belong to Napoleon Granade – my great, great, great grandfather. I am flattered to have it now as my dressing chest currently, but I am merely the keeper for a short time. Napp Yelton shall use it once he is ready! 

Taking cues from Jefferson’s life at Tuckahoe and Monticello, his ministering to France and his service as President and statesman too, I felt so inclined and inspired to create this space in his honor. Even the Palladian Blue wall color nodded to Jefferson’s delight in Palladio’s architecture and love for balance and symmetry. I hope y’all enjoy this little tour of TJ’s dining room – Maggie and I had a ball!

Feast your eyes on the rest of these photos and be sure to visit Bellissimo and Bella for more deets on TJ’s dining room!

Some are Silver and the Others Gold – Solid Gold

I honestly hate having to think about all the good things Maggie Marie Coody Griffin has done for me. The reason being is that they totally outweigh anything I’ve ever done for her! She never forgets a birthday, a special event, a thank you note, a detail – y’all the girl is just on the ball! 

 

 

During her birthday week, she threw me a party! I should’ve been throwing her a party but twas MCG hosting and cooking and decorating for me – lawdy! I was heading to Gainesville for a booksigning, thus Maggie planned a party. The girl can plan a party at the drop of a hat – one reason we became fast friends as children! She sent invites that she painted (to coordinate with the menus mind you) and even cooked recipes from A Time to Cook for her guests. We feasted on one of my favorites – a fruit and cheese plate –  pork tenderloin, Sea Island corn muffins, bacon wrapped asparagus with tarragon butter and sinfully amazing chocolate chip bars. The dessert may have been our breakfast the next day too!

Speaking of guests, Maggie is so good at assembling a great group. She invited friends of ours in Gainesville as well as new friends to be made that night. We laughed and ate until too late on a “school night” but had a blast anyways! And speaking of a good time, as fun as a dinner party is a la Chez Griffin, the slumber party just may rival the soiree; for, Maggie and her husband, David, have both been friends of mine since childhood. We three can simply talk and laugh and tell stories all night. Add a precious, beautiful baby in the mix is that much more fun!  Being “Uncle Jay” to Baby Henry is just gravy!

 

The three of us end up staying up way too late telling and reliving funny stories from elementary school to college! A piece or two of Buttermilk Pie’s famous  pecan, chocolate/peanut butter, coconut or, well, buttermilk  (or all the above), is usually consumed with a glass of milk to keep us well nourished during our late night laughs. There is hardly anything better for the heart and soul than to laugh – especially with friends you’ve shared your heart and soul with most of your life.

 

The menu, the food, the fellowship, the décor – it was all fabulous! Maggie’s sister-in-law is my office manager. Laura Lyn has told me that if I’m “good for one thing, it’s picking up sticks and flowers.” Well, not to disappoint the family, I proceeded with my “good for one thing” so I could at least be somewhat useful for Maggie’s party.

Sticks and flowers I can do! The Griffins live in a beautiful wooded, lakeside neighborhood that was ablaze with fall color. Branches of hickory, oak, abelia and dogwood filled Maggie’s Mama Doris’ butter churn as well as some of my favorite blue and white jardinières on the mantle. Dried blossoms of limelight hydrangea mixed delightfully with cotton bolls and pampas grass plumes and fall foliage along the tabletops in a mix of mercury glass and woven-wicker glass jars. 

 

Being at a party like this, the nursery rhyme song of making new friends but keeping the old plays through my head – and this song is Maggie Griffin to a tee! Some are silver and some are gold, but, y’all, I’m here to say, that this friend is solid gold!!! Mr. Griffin ain’t too shabby either! Thank you Maggie and David for being my friends to me today, yesterday and for years to come! I hope I can only be as kind, generous, thoughtful and supportive to you as you have been to me. The standard is set, y’all, and the standard isc nothing short of solid gold!

What Does the Fox Say?

This age old question has beguiled our brains for centuries – what does the fox say? Thankfully, a brotherly duo from Norway has quelled this quandary – thank you Bård (the blonde one) and Vegard (brown hair).

Upon hearing their catchy tune, I thought about Friederich, the trophy fox my brother-in-law Zach had mounted earlier this year.  My sister Maggie adhered to the good ol’ Southern expression quoted in Steel Magnolias, “… either shoot it, stuff it or marry it.” Maggie happily stuck with the latter.

Just what was Friederich trying to tell me? What does he say? Well, leave it to me to translate his desires as the following: “I wish to be the Thanksgiving centerpiece!”

I granted Friederich his request and even placed him as the centerpiece on the grown-ups’ table – not the lowly kids’ table. Our family’s new rule of order is if you have issued a child, you are granted an elevation from the kids’ table to “big table.” Yet, Baby Napp sat at the “big table” and not with Brubbs, SissyMama and the other “chillrun”… how did he swing that? I digress… 

There is no denying my love for a taxidermy, or “taxidermy-chic” if you will. Antler mounts, stuffed trophies, turtle shells and feathers all find their way into my design schemes and tablescapes. Quite fortunately, I have a brother-in-law, cousins, uncles and friends who are mighty hunters and provide me with a gracious plenty for my designs. 

Y’all may have seen my Southern Living Thanksgiving spread last month, and so my Big Mama’s (Mimi’s grandmother, thus my great, great-grandmother) turkey plates are a mainstay at our family table. As Mimi always said, “We eat with our eyes first…” so I find it important for the table and food’s presentation to be the first feasting. With Friederich keeping watch over the flock of turkeys, I interspersed some of Aunt Kathy’s Italian painted plates depicting other woodland and water creatures. Upon our tables, one could find a raft, a brace and a flush of ducks; a skein, a gaggle, a herd and a corps of geese; a pack of wolves; and of course, an earth, a leash, a skulk or troop of foxes. I absolutely adore the nomenclature of animal groupings!

Pumpkins, Granny Smith apples, pine boughs and nandina berries scattered the table too, thus creating a Southern, autumnal plank of foliage and fruit for Friederich to pose. As for the candlesticks, I found a bunch of old spools from a textile factory to serve as the pillar candle bases on the “big table” and my trusty antler candelabra for the “kids’ table.” Yet, for the kids’ table, I veered away from the traditional autumnal palette and stuck to my all-time favorite color scheme – blue and white.

To me, blue and white is neutral. The sky is blue and white most of the time and I find this classic pairing bodes so well in any season, pattern, color scheme and setting. Mixing more of Aunt Kathy’s blue and white painted plates with some Blue Willow “blue plate specials” was an easy choice for me. If you’ve ever wondered where the “blue plate special” came from, well take a gander at these divided dinner plates and you’ll learn. Often, the special of the day at a restaurant was served on a blue plate, many times a Blue Willow plate mind you, and thus the term became synonymous with a dinner or lunch special. Like myself and my family, no one individual is perfect. We all have our scars, chips, dings and dents, so if your plates do too, then welcome them still to your table.

Blue plaid and blue striped linens, a mix of mine, Mama’s, Aunt Kathy’s, Mimi’s and Aunt Irene’s silver, amber hued tumblers and goblets, bubble glass tumblers and jelly jars all melded together with the dinnerware and décor to create a tableau of generational and aesthetic delight. This year we knew was going to be different and bittersweet without Mimi, yet we managed. We held Thanksgiving on Friday which gave us an extra day to set tables and cook and keep our minds busy more so.

Mimi, though was there. She is now like the silver, some of the plates and linens – not necessarily present as a whole but positively tarnished, chipped and frayed into the very fabric of each one of us. Thanks and giving – that is what the day is truly about; and, for me, setting the tables allows me to share the bits and pieces of my legacy, my heart really, at each place setting. From this Farmer’s table to yours, thanks for giving me the chance to share a little bit of my family with y’all. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what the fox is really saying after all.

Tablescape for Turkeys!

I love setting a table, period. Setting just for dinner, for a grand soiree or for an event proper, setting a table is a quick fix for flexing your creative prowess. It is also a conquerable task, as opposed to waking up at three in the morning and deciding you want to redo your living room – the latter also a battle this Farmer faces regularly.

 

The conquerable task portion of table setting is that the urge to create, craft, complement and decorate all meld together and gives a scratch to the itch to do something  fun with design. For the entry table in my shop, I had the itch to bring together some of my favorite elements and set the table for my favorite season – fall. 

 

An antique set of fish plates, Aunt Kathy’s fabulous Provvista dinnerware, grasscloth chargers, amber hued tumblers and goblets, a pumpkin centerpiece and candles too, were, of course, highlighted with some brown and white gingham linens and faux bois flatware. My antique French mutton leg chairs with their original green velvet were just too yummy not to pull up to the deep English cherry round table. 

 

The tones and textures of fall all fell together onto this tablescape. I’m thinking red and green now but just wanted to savor the season with this particular cornucopia of elements. Thanksgiving is behind us, but I hope as the generations gather at your table in years to come, you find some inspiration from mine. From my table to yours, happy fall y’all and Thanksgiving too!

Thanksgiving with Southern Living

Here is the Southern Living article featuring my traditional Thanksgiving table setting. And in case you missed my last post you can check out the accompanying video here.

Farmer to Table

Seed to spoon, field to fork, garden to glass –  knowing a little bit about where your food comes from is a part of the Southern mantra. We often know who grew the peaches or we may even be the farmers, growers or gardeners with a garden of our own. Food though is only a part of my Farmer to Table moxy. As my Mimi always said, “We eat with our eyes first.” So set a pretty table too and celebrate the season with your setting.

I hope y’all enjoy this video series. We’ll open up with a sizzle reel introducing y’all to yours truly and some Southern goodness. Whether its poundcake, chicken salad, pimento cheese or setting the table, I hope y’all are inspired as I am by the bounty our lands and gardens provide. From this Farmer’s table to yours, enjoy Farmer to Table!


 
James Farmer Sizzle Reel from Dynes Media on Vimeo.

Summer Setting and Filming

I love to take pictures, set up for photo shoots, and even pose for a picture now and then; but, filming is a different ball of wax! Thankfully, I leave the filming proper to the pros, like my buddy Bobby McCullough. So when I need to have something filmed, I know that Bobby can work his magic with this ol’ boy and a fun video about my “Farmer to Table” mantra ensues! For the intro to this Farmer to Table series, we started with what I know best – chicken salad, pimento cheese, poundcake and setting a table! Especially when peaches are involved! 

A summer tablescape must involve the fruits of the season. I think there is hardly a flower arrangement as pretty as a basket or bowl of produce. Mixing the two together makes this Farmer weak in the knees! So, for this summer setting, I merged the two and gilded the lily with some – or shall I say fern?

I have a dessert set of Limoge fern plates with their coordinating cake stand. I am in love with these plates. They remind of some green and white plates of my aunt’s and the very “feel” of them is dainty yet handsome. I like to use them for dessert but for a salad plate too. Pair them with old silver, some vintage napkins and some of Aunt Kathy’s fabulous lavender Provvista dinnerware. For me, the more collected a tableau is the more luscious! Layers of heritage and history and seasonal nods are just a tapestry of delight on any table – and the story the pieces tell is that much more delightful!

Another little notion I love to see on a tabletop is a bouquet garnis or two. Yes a bouquet garnis can serve as a centerpiece all on its own, but often I find myself massing a single flower as arrangements sans greenery and allowing a separate bouquet of yummy herbs and greens dot the table. For this tablescape, mint, lemon balm and even a touch of camellia made for the gracious greenery portion. Fragrance and memory are linked, and to create a memory with herbs like mint and lemon balm for a lovely occasion like this is all the more enjoyable!

Rusty iron birds I used for Sister Maggie’s wedding also dot the table, adding a rustic, whimsical element and take the formality of the fern china down a notch or two. Mixing high and low textures, genres and looks on a table is key to a creative interpretation of your tablescape. For this summer setting, I gathered inspiration from the produce, the flora and fauna of the season, and thus recreated with the elements seen.

“We eat with our eyes first…” my Mimi always said. Before you’ve even had the first bite or taste, allow a visual feast to greet your friends and family when they arrive at your table. Farmer to table ya’ll, not just the food, but the flowers too!