Memorable Memorial Day Birthday Barbecue

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.

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Sweet Mister shares his Memorial Day birthday with our wonderful son and with our loyal Yorkshire Terrorist.  WS couldn't be here, but I understand that my daughter-in-love threw him a neat party.  I ask SM if he would like to have a few friends over to celebrate his birthday and the holiday at our house.  When he handed me the list of friends that he had invited, it was comprised of more than 50 guests....a few friends...well, you'd have to know him.  He wanted to have barbecue catered, which worked great for me.  I determined that I would set up the majority of tables on our back porch with a couple of additional tables inside.  It was supposed to be a windy and hot day, but the sweet Lord blessed us with just enough wind to provide a lovely, comfortable afternoon and evening for our festivities.

Lots of men on the guest list equals Lots. Of. Meat.  Smoked turkey and brisket were served on our old Dansk teak platters. In our neck of the woods, barbecue is always served with plain sliced bread.  I've presented the bread in an antique dough bowl.  The pair of patriotic Uncle Sam's are actually Santa Claus dolls that I've had for maybe 30 years.  The tureen and underplate in the center of the table are Burleigh Ware, "Calico."  I bought them during the last hour of an estate sale for $35.00 for both.  Woohoo!  Instead of flowers, I filled two blue crockery bowls with red apples...simple centerpiece solution.

All the usual suspects that you would always expect to see at a barbecue...The coleslaw and a green salad are served in more old, huge Dansk teak salad bowls.  The baked beans are found in a large Heller serving bowl.  Do any of you have Heller dishes?  I have tons of them from a former lake house.  They are a heavy melamine type material.  The potato salad is presented in a generously sized Pampered Chef crockery bowl.

Just for the birthday boy, a double chocolate fudge cake and a coconut cake were embellished with fresh raspberries.  Other desserts included German Chocolate brownies, lemon squares, and peach cobbler.  You won't see me do it very often, but for today, I decided that disposable clear plastic plates for dessert were the perfect choice.  I liked that the red and white gingham checked tablecloth, that I made many years ago, added a touch of holiday flair to the tablescape.

Sweet Mister wanted me to use unbreakable dinnerware.  I selected the Pottery Barn Outdoor Collection Enamelware,  dinner plates.  The flatware forks are L'Argent "Sophia."  Because we were serving barbecue, I provided paper napkins for our guests...another something that you will rarely see me do.  For barbecue, I always try to have at least three napkins per guest.

Five tables awaited our guests on the back porch.  Each was draped in a white or light blue tablecloth...

...and anchored with the blue and white jardiniers in which I plant geraniums each summer.  The pots are flanked by a pair of "frog jars" filled with sunflowers, hypericum berries, and assorted fresh flowers from Homeland Grocery Store.  I bought several inexpensive bouquets and deconstructed them for my floral decoration.

An easy-going touch...just right for a man's birthday party.

The Caspari rattan chargers also added an organic texture that sings of summer and barbecue.

I set two tables inside the house.  In the living room, I used the blue and white stripe tablecloth that I made using Sunbrella  fabric...

And in the breakfast room, I used a blue and white gingham tablecloth that I also made...

Both of the indoor tables were set with dark brown rattan chargers from WalMart.

Our Memorial Day was definitely memorable!  Sweet Mister gathered all of our guests to pray for our soldiers, living and departed, before we began our meal.  It was not lost on me that thousands upon thousands of our young men and women sacrificed their own comfort and safety yesterday to insure us a safe environment in which we could spend our afternoon and evening celebrating my love's birthday. I am humbled and grateful for their courage and bravery.

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, "Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "Tablescape Thursday."   Hop on over HERE and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 9:00 pm on Wednesdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  Her latest CD is called "Orchid."  It is available on iTunes or through her website.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!   

Autumn Birthday Brunch

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship.  As the harvest season approaches I am mindful that many are not so fortunate.  My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank.  As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project.  Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video.  I've included a link in the side margin of my blog.  I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger. 

The Garden Friends enjoy celebrating birthdays for everyone in our Bible study.  Today we celebrated with a brunch for Debbi, our September birthday girl.  All across blogworld, many talented contributors have been immersed in Fall and everything that goes along with it.  I've been inspired by the wonderful posts that I've seen, and I have decided to embrace the elements of Fall for my tablescape today.  

The front doors are all dressed for Autumn and waiting for the guests.  Before brunch was served...

...each guest was offered a Mimosa.  I painted the inexpensive "Bed Bath & Beyond" flutes using glass paint.  I baked them in the oven, and they have been used many times.  The color is "Emperor Gold."  Tip:  Sometimes when I'm hosting a bridesmaid luncheon or bridal shower/luncheon, I'll paint another 24 of these flutes.  After using them for the party, I give 12 to the bride and 12 to the MOB.  They are always a hit!

The dining room table was set for eight...

...and with the addition of the Flip-top Table Top, the game table in the living room was set for seven.

I chose the soft cream color of old Madeira linen tablecloths from our precious Nana.  The Madeira napkins on the dining table were bounty from an estate sale that I explored this past weekend.  There were 12 napkins in excellent condition for $18.00.  SCORE!!  I have been searching for this Victorian reproduction French Wire basket for a long time.  I found them just this week at Hobby Lobby on half-price sale for $8.00 each.  Two baskets were placed on the dining table, and the game table featured one.  I bought three fall bouquets at Sam's and deconstructed them to create my centerpieces.  Tip:  They are secured in Oasis sitting in the large round plastic lids that you get when you buy a tray of cookies from a bakery.  To camouflage the plastic, I cut leaves from a Photinia bush in the backyard.  I slipped them between the plastic liner and the wire basket...let's hear it for roadsidea!  A pair of three-light sterling candleabra, a wedding gift, and an Indiana Glass, Ruby Flash Compote, bought on eBay completed the centerpiece vignette.

The brown charger is an inexpensive resin plate from Hobby Lobby.  The service plate is topped with a Royal Doulton, "The Beaufort," dinner plate.  The browns in the chinoiserie center design and the brown furled cartouches were perfect for an Autumn tablescape.  The silver flatware is Reed & Barton, "Grande Renaissance," my wedding silver.

The raised design in the red Fenton "Empress" goblet complemented the cutwork in the tablecloth and the design in "The Beaufort" plate...

...and the sun streaming through the goblet was almost magical.

With a few modifications, I was able to achieve the same design for the second table.  I made the brown undercloth, and the square table topper is actually a vintage Madeira bridge table cloth that was Nana's.

Some of Nana's lovely old Madeira napkins and my mother-in-love's Reed & Barton's "Francis I" also fit right into the look.

The AJKA "Arabella" goblets were set on a kitchen counter for guests who chose to enjoy a glass of wine.  I bought these years ago at Tuesday Morning.  I wish that I had bought more.  They are still available, but they now cost more per goblet than I paid for a set of four.

Everything is in place....

The resplendent colors of Autumn have set the tone...

Choose your seat...

...and save me the seat next to yours!  I'm excited to get to know you better.

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, "Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "Tablescape Thursday.  Click on the button below to hop on over and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 9:00 pm on Wednesdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

   

Meet Miss Peg Nappy

A number of blog friends have commented that it would be nice to know more about the 'peg nappies' that I enjoy using in flower arrangements for some of my tablescapes.  So here's a brief introduction to 'Peg'...

from top.....

to bottom.

"Nappy" is an old term for a small bowl. A berry bowl would be an example of a "nappy." Now imagine a peg attached to the bottom of a berry bowl that would allow it to fit in the opening of a candle holder. That is a "peg nappy."

 Large candelabra often have a center candleholder that sits a touch higher than the surrounding candleholders on the piece. When you see a flower arrangement placed in that center position with candles surrounding it, that flower arrangement is commonly constructed in a peg nappy. The peg on the nappy resembles the bottom of a candle taper. I have found that I don't necessarily have to limit arrangements made in a peg nappy to candlesticks. They will rest nicely in just about anything that is the correct diameter.  Peg nappies are usually clear glass, so they are practically invisible in the arrangement. I fill the nappy with soaked oasis and go for it. Because the nappies are quite shallow, I add water to the flowers just about daily. 

Replacements usually will have a listing for 'peg nappy,' and I often find them on eBay, too. Check them out! Peg nappies are a wonderful tool. I keep about 8 of them to be able to make arrangements for multiple tables. I don't worry about whether or not they are all exactly alike because they really don't show in the arrangement. I often plop the nappy in a container for one event, and then I pick it up and plop it in another container for a totally different tablescape the next day or so. So versatile...makes it possible to get a lot of mileage out of one arrangement.  

Here are some examples of peg nappy arrangements...

If you look closely, you can see the peg nappy, and you can also spy the 'peg' resting inside the throat of the candlestick.

Can you tell...

That I get a lot of mileage out of these particular candlesticks?  They are so versatile!

On the other hand...

the peg nappies also worked well in these reticulated hurricanes...

 as well as in this simple blue & white import vase....

 and a few days later, the same flowers were transferred to these Lenox urns for a teaparty at my precious daughter's house.  Plop, plop, plop...instant centerpiece!

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have other questions, and I want to know if you decide to give them a try.

I am linking this post to "Centerpiece Wednesdays" at http://www.thestylesisters.blogspot.com
Thanks to The Style Sisters for hosting the party.  Hop on over and see all the great ideas!