Dallas Blog | Material Girls | Dallas Interior Design

I can honestly say I am the worst hostess/cook in the entire world.  I was once assigned to bringing a dessert to a pot luck dinner with my girlfriends and brought over a box of uncooked chocolate chip muffin mix instead (which are actually quite delicious!)  But needless to say, no one asks me to bring dessert anymore.  It has become the joke among our group of friends that I can’t cook at all, nor am I the best hostess.

But this week I was faced with a challenge- to host a small, casual dinner at my place for a group of girlfriends in celebration of this weekend’s big OU/TX game here in Dallas.  I was supposed to cook an edible meal (oh the horror!) and make my tablescape coincide with the Red River Shootout “scheme”.

Aside from the cooking part, my other challenge was that these girls are all Texas fans (and I went to OU).  In the end, I decided that burnt orange and a splash of turquoise was a more fun color scheme than inserting any crimson and cream…(OU people, don’t hate me) and as always, Tarjay came to the rescue with inexpensive and outdoor friendly plates.

I may be rooting for Texas’ color scheme, but I can’t say that I will be cheering for UT during the big game (much to my boyfriend’s disapproval).  Boomer Sooner!

I came across the most simple but lovely photograph today…

{House Beautiful}

All it consisted of was white ironstone and reliefware pitchers set against a background of Benjamin Moore’s Rural Earth paint color.  As basic as this photo was, I completely fell in love with it.  The display just felt so clean, graphic, and organized.  There’s such a nice contrast between the light vases and the dark background.

Sometimes it’s the littlest things that get me.  And what a difference an accent paint color makes here! Such drama in this photo- loves!

What do Tori Spelling, the Kardashians, the Barefoot Contessa, and the Jonas Brothers all have in common?

They heart La Plates!

These monogrammed dinner plates are the cutest things I’ve seen in a while!  Kris K. looks pretty giddy above with her K La Plate.

Cheryl Hines’ daughter’s name is Catherine Rose (so pretty- love this name)- the rosy pink plate fits her name to a tee.

Here are some more patterns they offer- you can change out the background color, font, font color, and personalize it any way you like!

If I were designing a La Plate for myself, I would do the pattern above in chocolate/white with an orange colored font. This is honestly too much fun!

Just some of the plates that La Plates did for celeb tots-

A toolshed is used for…..storing tools? In some cases maybe, but not at Laura McGuire’s M street home in Dallas.

She turned her rundown toolshed into The Dinner Cottage.

D Home featured it as one of their top ten dining rooms.

What a wonderful retreat and such a great place to spend time with friends and family.

Wonder if her tools are under the tableskirt? Not such a bad idea!

Often in Us Weekly or People, there will be that article that shows “day” Katie Cruise and “night” Katie Cruise. “Day” Katie will appear with less makeup, large sunglasses, wearing skinny or “boyfriend” jeans, strolling around looking more casual. “Night” Katie has smokey eye makeup, a tight fitting dress or ball gown on, and looking positively stunning- ready for a more formal occasion.

Day Katie

Night Katie

Katie also breaking out her fiery red for night!

As you can see, there is a time and a place for different sets of china (informal and more formal)…take it from Katie, she won’t be wearing her boyfriend jeans on the red carpet anytime soon!

Marc Jacobs has collaborated with Waterford! His crystal pieces are very pretty and can be bought at Bloomingdales or www.waterford.com

These cotton cushions from Anthropologie look adorable tied on to a kitchen, desk, or dining room chair! They instantly up the comfy AND chic factor through their various floral prints. The great news is that they are only $28!