Private Quarters

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.

My precious daughter, KC, asked me to help her host a Private Quarters party, last night in my home, for her friend Alee, a consultant.  KC and I had so much fun designing the table to serve a light buffet supper for our guests.  Private Quarters is an in-home business that markets some beautiful linens for the home.

KC is such a wonderful 'girly-girl.'  It was great fun to give her free reign to poke through my china closets and choose the items that she wanted to use for her party.  

Dusk was upon us, and I enjoyed the opportunity to entertain in the glow of lovely candlelight.  The base for our table is a Williams-Sonoma Matelassé Tablecloth.  I'm a huge fan of matelassé; I think that it bridges the entire spectrum of entertaining from casual to formal.  If you are only going to have one tablecloth, I encourage you to strongly consider matelassé.

KC selected the Mottahhedeh "Musée de Decoratif" tureen for our centerpiece.  The tureen is flanked by two pair of crystal lidded compotes from Tuesday Morning. As our source of candlelight, we used small pink votives and the Val St. Lambert crystal candlesticks.  Tip:  I like the light effects when the candlelight comes from high and low sources.  It a great technique for maximizing the "sparkle factor."

I sent our selection of flowers from Sam's home with KC.  She also took two of my peg nappies, and she created these lovely arrangements which were set in a pair of crystal candlesticks. For our light supper, we offered our guests a Spinach Salad, Bruschetta, Chicken Salad, and Iced Sugar Cookies from The Cookie Princess.  Check out her amazing creations HERE.  

I'm impressed with KC's skills...we're both amateurs with a passion for flowers. Tip:  I layered a small white linen tablesquare with pink embellishments (a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Janet) between the white of the matelassé and the white of the tureen.  It provided just enough of the pink to keep the tureen from visually fading into the tablecloth.

The spinach salad was served in Nana's salad bowl by Dorothy Thorpe.  Dorothy Thorpe was a California artist who created beautiful pieces during the 30's and 40's.  The silver pieces belonged to my mother-in-love.  They are Reed & Barton, "Francis I."  

The Bruschetta was served on a Dorothy Thorpe tray, a companion to the salad set.  Haviland, "Ranson" held the Chicken Salad.  A small pink Fenton, "Coin Dot Ruffle" bowl was a nice pop of pink and held my all-time favorite salad dressing, La Martinique, True French Vinagrette.  Give it a try; I think that you'll love it!

I sent the Cookie Princess an email with a picture of the dinner plates that KC selected for the evening.  I told her to use her imagination, and she created these....which I think are perfect for...

...the Royal Doulton, "Old Chelsea" dinner plates, an eBay purchase... and the vintage pink linen napkins, estate sale treasures.

KC chose to use my wedding silver flatware, Reed & Barton, "Grande Renaissance."

The pearlized pink goblets from Pier One provided a good shot of pink for the far end of the table.  I'm always comfortable with guests walking around with these stems because I bought them on deep clearance for $1.00 each, a number of years ago.  The silver champagne bucket belonged to Nana....our sweet, "hostess with the mostest" in her day.

Everything was ready for our guests to arrive.  We had a wonderful time learning about the Private Quarters line of beautiful linens.  I feel confident to encourage you to check them out!  I'd love to know if you have favorite items from Private Quarters.  I bought the feather bed!  I can hardly wait for it to arrive.  Some evening, I hope that you can join me for a time of good food and good fellowship.

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 HERE 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.

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!