The Gathering Table Weekend at McCharles House, November 7 and 8

Saturday, November 7, 10am to 1pm, and Sunday, November 8, 11am to 2pm, 2026 · The McCharles House, Tustin, California

Some tables are decorated. The best ones are gathered.

Join me for a weekend at the McCharles House, a beautifully preserved Victorian home in the heart of Tustin. Come for one day or both. Everything is included, and you'll go home with something you made with your own hands.

Day One · Saturday, November 7 · 10am to 1pm · The Gathering Table

Learn to set a relaxed, California-style Thanksgiving table: polished enough to feel special, easy enough that everyone wants to pull up a chair and stay. Think long linen-covered tables, a mix of vintage and handmade pieces, a few curious objects that give the table its story, and guests seated close together the way a good gathering should be.

Then you'll build a long, low centerpiece made for talking across, not around, using a mix of dried and fresh flowers with seasonal branches and candlelight. The dried elements are the lasting foundation, so you can simply swap in fresh flowers the week of Thanksgiving and your centerpiece will be ready for the holiday table. I'll show you exactly how.

We'll finish by sitting down together and sharing lunch from Mercado Laguna, served family-style at the table we built.

Day Two · Sunday, November 8 · 11am to 2pm · Painting Flowers

A relaxed, guided three-hour painting class focused on flowers, with tea and snacks along the way. We'll paint from fresh blooms and the arrangements from Saturday's table, working on color, loose brushwork and the shapes that make flowers feel alive. No experience needed. You'll leave with a finished painting.

What's included

• Day One: all dried and fresh flowers, greenery and floral tools, plus lunch from Mercado Laguna
• Day Two: all art supplies and canvas, plus tea and snacks
• Your finished centerpiece and painting to take home

Choose your ticket: Day One only, Day Two only, or the full weekend at a savings.

Space is limited to 12 guests each day.

Taught by Sussanna Davidson, floral designer, fine artist and founder of French Buckets, whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest and Martha Stewart Weddings.