Under the Pecan Trees

Under the Pecan Trees I’m Amy and I’m journaling my love for adding special touches to gatherings that make friends and family feel truly loved.

From thoughtful details to beautiful tablescapes, I believe the little things often make the biggest impression.

I got the call from Carol Goings again… which usually means the Ascension Church women were up to something! 😂And this m...
10/04/2026

I got the call from Carol Goings again… which usually means the Ascension Church women were up to something! 😂

And this morning, we were definitely back at it.

Today was extra special as our church celebrated its 125th anniversary, along with Ascension School Day, honoring the schools that are such an important part of our church family.

So, naturally, the women pulled out all the stops! We hosted a brunch, organized a Harvest Market bake sale, and after the 11 a.m. service, treated the kids to ice cream. Because if you’re going to celebrate 125 years, you might as well do it with good food and ice cream!

My assignment? The table centerpieces. And you know I’m never going to complain about getting to set a table.

Each one started with a different basket—different sizes, shapes and styles. Then we tucked in bags of flour, sugar and other baking staples along with fresh harvest vegetables like corn, potatoes and carrots. Kale leaves made the perfect greenery, and pops of fall color came from florals borrowed from Carol. Somehow, it all came together into the sweetest little harvest tablescape.

Nothing matched exactly, and that may have been my favorite part. Different baskets, simple groceries, fresh vegetables and things we already had on hand—proof that a beautiful table doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive.

Sometimes the prettiest tables are the ones filled with things that mean something.

And after 125 years of faith, fellowship, service—and I’m guessing quite a few church-lady casseroles—I’d say there was plenty worth celebrating today. 💙🍪🍁

🍂 Fall has me thinking about soup… and, naturally, the dishes we serve it in. 🍂This pretty little thing that looks suspi...
09/27/2026

🍂 Fall has me thinking about soup… and, naturally, the dishes we serve it in. 🍂

This pretty little thing that looks suspiciously like a teacup with an extra handle is actually a cream soup cup—one of those lovely pieces from a time when the dish mattered almost as much as what was served in it.

Cream soup cups have two handles and were traditionally used for smooth, creamy or puréed soups. And here’s the fun etiquette part: those handles are there for a reason. Unlike most soup bowls, it was perfectly proper to lift a cream soup cup by its handles and sip from it. If a spoon was provided, it could be used as well. Very civilized for something I would probably fill with butternut squash soup and consume while standing over the kitchen counter. 😂

But then I saw the second picture—which I borrowed from another post because the idea was just too good not to share.

A disposable six-cup muffin tin… for a soup party!
Each little compartment holds a different soup so everyone can sample several kinds without committing to a whole bowl. Chili, gumbo, tomato basil, potato, broccoli cheese, chicken and sausage… suddenly I feel like we need a soup tasting party.

So now I have questions:

Would you rather have one beautiful soup served in an antique cream soup cup…
OR
six different soups in a muffin tin?

And perhaps the more important question: Why choose? We could sample six and then serve the winner in the good china. 😂🍲🍂

Because around here, there is always room for one more plate… and apparently one more soup cup, too.

I realized this morning that I haven’t posted here in more than a week—which probably tells you a little about what life...
09/17/2026

I realized this morning that I haven’t posted here in more than a week—which probably tells you a little about what life has looked like lately.

I’ve spent last week in Hammond with Aunt Linda and Uncle Larry. Ball planning shifted into a whole new gear with our table lottery on Sunday. And work has brought a few unexpected twists and turns of its own.

In other words, there hasn’t been much time for playing with dishes.

But maybe that’s part of why I love this little corner of Facebook so much. Pretty plates, setting a table, hunting for that one piece I didn’t know I needed—they’re not the important things in life. But they are one of the ways I slow down, get creative and make ordinary days feel a little more special.

So I think it’s time to get back to the plates. ❤️
Now the question is…do we ease back in with fall, start dreaming about Thanksgiving, or admit that I’m already thinking about Christmas? 😂

Because apparently life can be complicated AND there is always room for one more plate.

Sometimes you have to appreciate the “before” before you can get to the after. 😂Here she is—the dining room table and ch...
09/03/2026

Sometimes you have to appreciate the “before” before you can get to the after. 😂

Here she is—the dining room table and chairs in place and looking quite lovely… surrounded by a dining room that is still proudly living its best 1982 life. Wallpaper. Light fixture. All of it. Bless her heart.

And yes, for those following along, this is what I picked up the day Drew and Jonesie got tangled. So somewhere between admiring the new-to-us table and mentally removing 44 years of decorating decisions, the universe apparently decided we needed a plot twist.

The good news? I still absolutely love the table and chairs. And underneath all that 1982, I can already see what this room is going to become. Because apparently I don't just collect plates—I also collect projects. 😂

And you know what they say around here: there's always room for one more plate. Now I just need the room to catch up with the plates. ❤️🍽️

PS There are actually eight chairs in total, but I moved three so that you could see her beauty. 😍

A couple cups of coffee in this morning while visiting with Cade and texting with Teresa, and apparently I’ve already go...
08/19/2026

A couple cups of coffee in this morning while visiting with Cade and texting with Teresa, and apparently I’ve already gone down a Thanksgiving table-setting rabbit hole. ☕️🍂

There’s something so striking to me about using leaves instead of the traditional turkey for a Thanksgiving table. And I especially love the idea of doing it with different patterns rather than one perfectly matched set.

Which brings us to this morning’s family debate.
I pulled out these vintage Hall Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf cream soup cups, a pattern my Aunt Linda and I both love. I adore serving a cream soup before Thanksgiving dinner—usually pumpkin or squash—and honestly, owning beautiful cream soup cups is reason enough to add a soup course. 😂

That led Cade and me into a conversation about the old phrase “from soup to nuts.” Formal dinners once moved through course after course, beginning with soup and eventually ending with fruit and nuts. Naturally, that sent me even farther down the rabbit hole.

And now I have two dilemmas.

Dilemma #1: Hannah says the undertones of these dishes don’t match. She’s not wrong. Cade likes the variety in the patterns and thinks the repeating leaves and fall colors tie the whole stack together.

I’m leaning Team Cade but am torn. 🍁 I think the different patterns make it more interesting—and somehow the little Autumn Leaf soup cup pulls everything together. Maybe?

Dilemma #2: If I’m going to embrace this whole “soup to nuts” idea, I have discovered a rather serious deficiency in my collection:

I DO NOT OWN AN EPERGNE.

How exactly am I supposed to finish Thanksgiving dinner with a fabulous fruit-and-nut display if I don’t own an epergne?! 😂

So before 9 a.m., a couple cups of coffee have somehow turned into Thanksgiving plates, cream soup, old dining traditions, a family debate over undertones…and the realization that there is apparently one more completely unnecessary thing I now need to hunt for.

This, my friends, is how collections happen.

So tell me—Team Hannah or Team Cade? Do the undertones need to match, or do the leaves and fall colors make this stack work?

And, more importantly…does anyone have an epergne I need to know about? 😂

Sunday night update… and what a week. ❤️Well, the Drew saga continues! He saw the extremity specialist Wednesday afterno...
08/17/2026

Sunday night update… and what a week. ❤️

Well, the Drew saga continues! He saw the extremity specialist Wednesday afternoon, and apparently they don’t believe in easing into things—surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning. 😳 Definitely faster than we expected, but at least it’s behind us now.

He has quite the scar running from his elbow toward his wrist and is still in a good bit of pain. But we’re starting to see movement in some of those fingers, which feels like very good news and something we are incredibly grateful for. ❤️

And because apparently trips can’t occur without finding dishes or glassware… home trip came with blue-stemmed ch*****ne glasses. 😂🥂

Which means this blue-and-white place setting is officially COMPLETE. Y’all, I love it. And yes, that is legit vintage anchor hocking cobalt blue glass and Godinger plates!

Now comes the dilemma: Do I keep it, or put it on Etsy and share the love? Of course, selling it on Etsy would require actually opening that Etsy shop I keep talking about...

But at this point, I’m beginning to think an Etsy shop may be inevitable. 😂

So tell me—KEEP or ETSY? 💙🥂🍽️

So tonight’s experiment…Spode Christmas Tree on Lenox Holiday on a no-name red embossed dinner plate from last weekend. ...
08/09/2026

So tonight’s experiment…

Spode Christmas Tree on Lenox Holiday on a no-name red embossed dinner plate from last weekend. 🎄❤️ And you know what? I LOVE it.

There’s something about putting two classic Christmas patterns together and then grounding them with a pretty plate that doesn’t have a fancy name on the back. Because sometimes the best table isn’t about everything matching—or everything being expensive. It’s about finding pieces that are prettier together than they were apart.

That’s really the fun for me: the hunt, the mix and then that little moment when the stack comes together.

So tell me…are we okay mixing Spode and Lenox, or have I broken a Christmas china commandment? 😂 🎄🍽️

Well, I completely missed my Saturday post... and I have to admit, I was kind of bummed about it. Yes, there was another...
08/06/2026

Well, I completely missed my Saturday post...

and I have to admit, I was kind of bummed about it. Yes, there was another trip from Opelousas to Laredo (2nd weekend in a row) and the past several days have been one of those "when it rains, it pours" kind of weeks. A flat tire. Drew losing his wedding ring. Drew’s referral to another surgeon because it’s worse than they thought. Two rock chips in a brand-new replacement windshield. Everyone in the house feeling under the weather. And another funeral this past weekend.

But somewhere in the middle of all that, I remembered something. I've always believed creativity can be self care.

So between Kingwood and Laredo, I couldn't resist rescuing a few charming holiday plates. 🎄Then I found tree salad plates. 🍁 And now violet dinner plates and a platter are on the way to complete the stack I started last week. I can’t wait to show you the final look!

Life isn't always picture-perfect, but sometimes creating something beautiful reminds us that difficult seasons don't get the final word.

Here's to finding little pockets of joy... one vintage plate at a time. 💜

There ought to be a support group for people who can't pass up a cute plate. 😄Somewhere between Laredo, Lafayette, and O...
07/30/2026

There ought to be a support group for people who can't pass up a cute plate. 😄

Somewhere between Laredo, Lafayette, and Opelousas, these beautiful amber glass salad plates followed me home. Then on the drive back, I stumbled across these sweet little 6-inch Prince Albert plates with yellow blossoms and purple violets. They looked like they had been waiting on those amber plates all along.

Now today I have these Noritake dinner plates on the way, and for the first time I'm intentionally mixing glass plates right into the stack instead of using all china. I have to admit... I'm smitten with the look.

The plan? Amber glass goblets, purple glass charger plates, and a table that's feeling just a little bit bold.

Tell me I'm not the only one... is this giving anybody else LSU brunch vibes? 💜💛

There’s just something about a good hat. ❤️Looking through these family photos reminded me that apparently the hat-lovin...
07/25/2026

There’s just something about a good hat. ❤️

Looking through these family photos reminded me that apparently the hat-loving gene runs deep around here. Wide brims, church hats, cowboy hats, fascinators, baseball caps... we’ve never been shy about topping off an outfit.

Down South, hats come with their own little etiquette book. Straw, organza, and lightweight fabrics belong to spring and summer. Felt and wool wait patiently for the cooler days of fall and winter. It's one of those traditions I still love.

Funny thing is... tables have "hat rules," too.

Just like hats, placemats have seasonal personalities. Light woven textures, linens, and bright colors feel right in warm weather, while richer fabrics and deeper colors are right at home in fall and winter.

Now, do I always follow the placemat rules? Well... let's just say my tables occasionally have a rebellious streak. 😄

But here's the thing: if you're going to break the rules, it's much more fun to do it on purpose than because you didn't know they existed. Once you know the traditions, you get to decide when they're worth following—and when your creativity deserves to win.

Around here, I like to think both hats and tables should make people smile. Sometimes tradition takes center stage... and sometimes a little Southern sass does.

Do you have a favorite hat? And be honest... are you a rule follower or a happy rule breaker? 👒 🍽️🌺

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