A Touch 'O the Green

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 friends are so generous and giving throughout the year.  It blesses me to be able to invite them to be the guest of honor at my table when their birthdays come around.  This day, I was excited to set a table for a few friends to join me in a birthday celebration for my dear, dear friend Cindy.  You can meet Cindy by visiting her blog More Entertaining Women, HERE.  Cindy's favorite color for decorating is green, so in a nod to St. Patrick's Day and Cindy, I created a table featuring lovely greens.

A table for five was well-suited for the game table in our living room.  You'll no doubt remember that I am fond of a round table for ease of conversation during the meal.  I laid a 90" handkerchief-weight linen tablecloth as a base for my table.  This sweet feminine cloth was a $15.00 estate sale find.  I love the scalloped edge and the dots...oh I do love dots!

This particular table is all about the china...Bernardaud Limoges, "Artois, Green."  I was incredibly fortunate to purchase a service for 12 with many serving pieces for an amazingly reasonable price from a Haviland dealer who is my friend.  I used the coffee pot, the master sugar and creamer, and the teapot as a part of my centerpiece.

I wanted the flowers to pick up on the floral pattern in the china.  Green and blue hydrangeas and pink snapdragons, from the grocery store, were simply plopped in the base of a lidded, footed compote by Pasabache.  Pasabache is a very inexpensive Turkish crystal, often sold as Fifth Avenue Crystal.  I bought several of these on eBay for around $12.00 each.  They still show up for auction periodically, if you have an interest.  It was just the right proportion for today's table, and I love the reflective element of the compote in combination with the crystal votives from Dollar Tree...that's right...can you believe it?  I use these little jewels often.

Tip:  I've already mentioned repeating the china's floral pattern in the flowers.  Look closely at the rim in the votive....do you see the floral border around the top?  Now, check out the patterns in the tablecloth.  Does the green laurel wreath on the china remind you of the laurel design in the cloth?  And look at the garland of posies stitched on the linen...Repetitive patterns within a tablescape "stitch" your design together.  Did you know that repeated patterns are psychologically comforting for most people?  It's why I like all those dots, and plaids, and stripes, and many other patterns.  How about you?

I used the Waterford, "Simply Pink" goblet to bring out the touch of pink in the flowers on the china.  Today I've paired the pink goblet with one of my wedding crystal goblets, Lalique, "Treves."  If you look closely at the stem, you'll notice a filagree design in the frosted stem.  Many years ago, I chose this crystal stem because I liked the way that it worked with the filagree scroll in the Reed & Barton, "Grande Renaissance" flatware.  The crisp white linen napkin features an organdy cartouche monogrammed with our dear Nana's initials.  The napkin sits nicely next to the MacKenzie-Childs individual salt and peppers presented on small silver trays.  I've collected these over a number of years, one pair at a time, because I consider them a bit expensive.  Each pair is different, and even though they are quite whimsical, I am continually amazed that they work well with many different table designs.

As a first course, I served a delicious chilled Avocado & Cucumber Soup in these Val St. Lambert scalloped crystal bowls.  The bowls were one of those super last hour estate sale finds for 75% off!  As a charger plate, I used some of Nana's 1920's Limoges, "Dresden Flowers," wide gold rimmed plates.  Tip:  They effectively set off the dainty pattern of the Bernardaud, "Artois."  Without the gold charger, the delicate design would have been 'swallowed' by the bright white of the tablecloth.  The charger also once again repeats a design element...the narrow gold rim on the dinner and salad plate.

Birthdays, St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and multiple other occasions...I'm already envisioning many ways to use this lovely porcelain in tablescapes.  How would you use it in a design?  It is always a treat to realize that I have found such a precious group of talented bloggers with whom I can share a passion for tablescaping and entertaining.

I continue to hope that one day you will be one of the honored guests at my table...just think of the ideas that we can share!  Oh happy day!

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!