There are several old silver pieces we’ve collected to use on the table where the apple cider bar will be set up. We hunted Goodwill, a flea market in Lincoln, and a small consignment store in York. Etsy also yielded some nice old spoons to be used on the candy table. 
Part of the charm, we think, is that these pieces show their age. The “rustic elegance” theme Jess chose includes “vintage” as well. So while we liked the age on the silver, it really had become quite tarnished over the summer. I perused Pinterest, as I’m wont to do for awhile before heading to bed, and came across a tip for shining up silver by dipping it in hot water with baking soda and salt. Greg was skeptical, but a little fascinated as I gave it a shot today.
I lined the kitchen sink with heavy duty aluminum foil, put the kettle full of water on the stove, since you’re supposed to use “steaming hot water”, added two tablespoons of salt and two tablespoons of baking soda. When the kettle whistled, the contents went in the sink, and I did run some hot tap water to increase the volume, but kept the water level about an inch below the line of the foil.
For the less tarnished pieces I left them in the sink for about a minute or two. You could see the silver brighten immediately. The darker pieces went for five minutes, and the worst one stayed in the sink for about half an hour. By then, the solution had started making little pinholes in the foil.
After rinsing, I used a soft towel to polish a bit, and the shine really came out, yet none of them look brand new. They’re perfect!
The Nester’s 31 Day Series
I always wondered if that foil-in-the-sink idea worked - now I know! I love it since 1) it's not toxic and 2) it's cheap! I'm going to do this with my silver jewelry.
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