06 May Entertain for Mother’s Day with 5 Fabulous Gift and Tablescape Ideas

Happy May friends! I can’t believe it’s already May, can you? Spring seems to be flying by and before we know it, summer will be here.  What better way to enjoy spring and all the flowers this season brings, than celebrating Mother’s Day with your Mom. I know sometimes it’s hard to please your mother, but being one myself I can tell you that anything you do with, or for your Mom, will be special. Entertain for Mother’s Day, either indoors or out, with these 5 gift and tablescape ideas.

Not everyone can be with their mother on Mother’s Day, but sending a small gift lets her know you are thinking of her. 

I popped into my favorite specialty shop, Austin’s iconic – Breed & Co. – to look for five gifts you can easily have shipped to your mother.

About Breed & Co.

Breed & Co. is like an Austin institution. It’s reliable, dependable, has exemplary customer service….kind of like your best friend.  It’s always there and boy am I ever glad they made it through 2020; I would have been heartbroken if Austin had lost this beloved store. 

With four locations now, it has expanded its services to offer a NEW online Gift Registry. You don’t have to be a bride to register; I registered to save all my favorite products in a “Wish List”. And as e-commerce takes off, Breed & Co. will be adding more products all the time, so  you can shop for them from whereever you live.

But for Austin, Breed & Co. is like your neighborhood general store – homeware, hardware, and garden supplies and more – all wrapped into one. I’ve been shopping at their original 29th street location, and now the West Lake Hills location, since college…that’s over 37 years! (They’re recently added even two more locations.)

What I love about Breed & Co. is that it’s family-owned, shares my values, and has EVERYTHING!  From china and candles to hardware and chocolates, you can always find a gift for your Mother’s Day, or any special occasion, at Breed & Co. They even have women’s handbags and pajamas. And of course, all the tools anyone would ever need are ever handy.

This weekend, their offering a Mother’s Day special – free gift-wrapping. Shop their new Gift Registry, or, if you live locally, why not stop by one of their four convenient locations to browse the shop to find the perfect gift.  

All You Need is Breed – Excellent Customer Service!

Their staff is always so incredibly helpful.  Trust me, I know!!  I was a Guest Participant in my very first One Room Challenge two years ago this spring.  I was at the tail end of the exciting bi-annual 6-week challenge when I fell over a case of water bottles and twisted my ankle.  But nothing was going to stop me from styling our new Bold Blue & White Bedroom for the photoshoot….and I needed a bedside clock!

So I wrapped a vintage apron around my ankle with ice and hobbled around.  When I stopped by my neighborhood Breed & Co., the staff took one look at me, ushered me to sit down and put my foot up, and offered to bring to me whatever I needed. Plus they gave me some water.

I know they have excellent customer service, but I was blown away and really taken with their kindness. I went home with a bedside clock for my photoshoot and delicious Tone’s Toffee to help heal my ankle! (wink wink!) So very sweet of them and I will never forget their generosity.

Gifts Galore – Entertain for Mother’s Day with 5 Fabulous Gift and Tablescape Ideas

When I first enter the West Lake Hills location of Breed & Co. closest to my neighborhood, one of my favorite things to do is turn the corner to see all the beautiful china. From modern Lenox to floral Royal Crown Derby, Breed & Co. carries every china pattern you can think of and I kind of have a thing for china. They’re all exquisite, especially for Mother’s Day gifts and tablescape ideas! 

40 Year Specialty Gift and Hardware Store

Breed & Co. is a 40-year old institution in Austin – a real jewel of a specialty store – known for its extraordinary gifts for any occasion.  They’re such an expansive store with a kitchen and chef department, a gardening department with outdoor furniture and plants, gourmet chocolates, and an entire wing of hardware you’ll need for any home project. I love the chocolates so that when I’m worn out from shopping, I just purchase a truffle, and I’m all set for the rest of the day!

Yesterday, I looked around for a while, but my eye kept coming back to these five special Mother’s Day gifts, perfect for Mom to indulge in for herself and entertaining.  

The Pillow Goddess Picks – 5 Fabulous Gift Ideas

Hibiscus Glass Vase – $54.00

Photography by Breed & Co.

I instantly fell in love with these Hibiscus Glass Vases by Vietri!

This aqua blue vase, that’s also on their NEW e-commerce Gift Registry HERE, really caught my eye and is stunning. So much, as the name suggests, they really look like a flower themselves, which you can definitely display as an “objet d’art” without flowers. It’s that beautiful!

Inspired by Italian lifestyle, Vietri was founded in 1983 when Lee Gravely and her daughters, Susan and Frances, took a trip to Italy. They returned with the flagship Vietri line Campagna. Ever since that first foray into Italian culture and lifestyle, Vietri has been celebrating the simple act of sharing a meal with family and friends by creating handcrafted Italian tableware.

Michel Design Works – $10.99+

What woman doesn’t love beautiful gifts covered in flowers? The Michel Design Works collection carried by Breed & Co. comes in Royal Rose, Gardenia, and other heavenly scents. From drawer liners to bathing soap and dish, these gifts, to me, always say “pretty things that your mother would like.” 

Rosenthal Gift-Boxed Vases – $38.00

Apologies in advance for the blurry image, but I really loved these miniature modern vases and wanted to share them with you. 

Each individual white vase, with its own unique shape and fun name – Mini- Geode, Fast, Tuten, and Surface – comes in a colorful gift box. At only $38, I thought these would be a fantastic gift for the urban, artistic Mom.  Very chic – reminded me of gifts you’d find in NYC at the MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art.

Golden Gingko Medium Glass Bowl – $375

This incredible bowl really caught my eye and is handcrafted by Michael Aram. There is an entire collection with the Gingko leaf.  The very unusual design would be a special piece for your mother to entertain with and impress her guests. Michael Aram’s artistry is stunning!

“Patzecuaro” Swan Vessel by Texas artisan – $3,200 

If you really want to splurge, this fun vessel by Texas artisan Jan Barboglio really caught my eye! It’s oversized and perfect for a table centerpiece or sitting on the floor next to your Mom’s favorite reading chair.  In addition, I could also see it on a lovely sun porch. So shower your Mother with not only a unique vessel, but a beautiful plant from Breed & Co.’s garden shop. (Plant pictured is not included in price.)

Inspired by the romance and rustic feel of Old-World Mexico, Jan Barboglio handcrafts exquisite home decor with her stunning one-of-a-kind pieces using cast iron and nickel. This feathered swan vessel, made of wax cast iron, is truly a work of art; dimensions 18″ x 15″ x 22″.  Indulge Mom, as many mothers love artisan gifts!

Please PIN for easy reference

How are you entertaining for Mother’s Day this weekend?

If you are able to visit your mother, perhaps you are planning a brunch for her.  I don’t know about you, but brunch is my favorite meal!  I love the ease and relaxation that a small brunch provides guests.  Make your mother the center of attention and host a brunch for her.  From formal to casual here are five tablescapes that I hope will inspire you to entertain.

Green & Lilac Spring Tablescape

For fun this spring, I created a beautiful tablescape using my grandmother’s vintage chargers in beautiful spring colors of pink, peach, yellow, green, cream, and lilac.  I incorporated the Trellis Greenery fabric and placemats from partner Cotton & Quill and layered the look with some colorful banded Spode china from Replacements, Ltd. Read more HERE , with five Design Tips for Entertaining, how I pulled this lovely tablescape together for any spring occasion. From Easter through my birthday to Mother’s day, it has been great fun to have it all set, ready to go for any dining occasion in our breakfast nook.

The key to the success of this tablescape was a beautiful floral centerpiece (always remember a vase of flowers or a plant adds color) and mixing different textile patterns for the napkins, placemats, and china. 

Breed & Co. carries many wonderful tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and napkin rings so that you too can create a beautiful spring tablescape for entertaining.  They also carry my favorite placemat line Chilewich. Here are a couple of examples of some colorful placemat/napkin combinations I found at Breed & Co.

Modern Aqua & White Tablescape

Transformed breakfast nook, with Chilewich placemats, for 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Gregg Cestaro.

In this tablescape I designed in our breakfast nook for the 2019 One Room Challenge, I use aqua blue oval Chilewich placemats and modern white china. The Chilewich placemats are so easy to keep clean and the aqua and white color combination keep the tablescape looking fresh and modern.  And yes, those are The Pillow Goddess pillows in our new breakfast nook.

Casual Outdoor Garden Tablescape

Since my husband and I rent an Airbnb every weekend at our home in the Zilker Neighborhood, we no longer have use of our back patio, as that’s reserved for guests.  Therefore, I’ve been working on making a very informal front patio with some random patio furniture we have on hand.  The chairs are not in ideal shape, but boy are they comfortable. I had four friends over for a lovely birthday brunch at my make-shift front patio on a beautiful spring day – they even brought their own chairs!

I recommend you shop for these fantastic Carrera Woven Wicker Chairs below ($366 each). I loved this very chic display (below) at Breed & Co. They’re a little out of my budget, but every Mom deserves to sit in a comfy and attractive outdoor chair.  Add a vintage tablecloth and flowers and you’re all set for an outdoor brunch.  Oh, and of course some pastries, fruit salad and Mimosas. 

Green, Blue & White Tablescape

This last tablescape is the one I discovered at Breed & Co.  I love the crisp green tablecloth, Kim Seybert napkins and rings, and the table setting of fresh blue and white china,with a dash of Rainbow Pink Martini glasses filled with balls of green moss. How fun and festive it looks! I

must confess I fell in love with these little green moss balls. How cute to add them to the tablescape. I also loved the scalloped Belgrav placemats in green and the fine porcelain Blue Shou Pasta Plate by Mottahedeh (which you can find on Breed & Co.’s NEW Gift Registry HERE).

(Please note: You need to set up a registry Wish List through Breed & Co.’s Gift Registry which is powered by MyRegistry.com. Once you sign in you will need to confirm your account by email and then you can shop for hundreds of pieces of china and stemware, as well as other beautiful gifts.)

I hope this inspires you to entertain your mother this weekend with a special tablescape and a few fabulous gifts she so deserves.  Shop Breed & Co. for all your entertaining and gift needs. And if your Mom really wants a drill or saw for her latest DIY project, Breed & Co. has you covered!

Please PIN for easy reference

Please follow Breed & Co. on their instagram @breed_and_co, and be sure to enter our Instagram Giveaway over on my Insta @thepillowgoddess.  The lucky Giveaway winner of this wonderful array of Mother’s Day gifts (below) will be announced Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

Till the next time you need to shop for the perfect gift, please remember to shop Breed & Co. Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend celebrating with your Mom, or the memory of your Mom, as our Mothers are always with us and we have their love and guidance to be thankful for. XO PG

NOTE: This post is sponsored by Breed & Co. Photography by myself and Breed & Co. Opinions my own.