Exotic Birds on a Late Spring Evening, 2017

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to entertain a few dear friends for supper.  I wanted it to be really special because two of them had never sat at one of my tables.  I wanted both of them to feel like the guest of honor.  Actually that's pretty much my goal every time I set a table.  It's why I always go the "extra mile".  Tonight we are seated at the games table in the living room.  Come on in and join us...

The weather is rapidly becoming too hot to dine al fresco, none the less, I wanted my table to remind my guests of a wonderful, cool spring evening.

I made the light teal matelasse tablecloth.  It is one of my favorites when choosing linens.  The Vietri gold rimmed glass charger plate set the mood for a girly but still elegant tablescape.  This charger is still in production and probably available at one of your local shops, should you be interested.

My camera had been giving me fits for some time.  I finally figured out why so many of my shots seemed slightly out of focus.  Please, forgive me for some of the shots in this post.  I think that the problem is solved going forward.  Again, one of my favorite things...the Coalport Exotic Bird dinner plate.  I've been collecting these for about 15 years, and to date I have found 5 dinner plates on eBay.  Normally, I don't start a collection unless I know that I have the ability to complete it.  I like this design so much that I made an exception! 

I've had better fortune with the Exotic Bird luncheon plate.  

The Waterford Simply Pink and the Lost and Found crystal goblet lent plenty of sparkle and shine to our special evening.  Why Lost and Found?  Years ago, a friend  of my sister-in-love's stole half of all of the crystal that she had inherited when my mother-in-love passed away.  One day, I attended an estate sale for a pawn shop that was going out of business.  I turned the corner, and voilà, there they sat!  The friend had pawned them, probably years ago.  My sister-in-love decided that I should keep them, and she would use them whenever she wanted.  And now you have the story of the "Lost and Found Crystal".

Finishing touches were provided by the Reed & Barton Grande Renaissance sterling flatware, my whimsical tiny blown glass salt and peppers, and the linen napkin with teal trim.

  It sings of late spring to me.

When I'm designing a table for four, I often find that a full sized tureen is out of proportion with the rest of the small table.  It makes an already packed table way too crowded, so...

...I usually turn to a covered vegetable dish and elevate it on a stand.  Tonight I used the Minton Cockatrice.  It works beautifully with the Coalport plates.  The hydrangeas are from my garden, except for the blue ones which I bought at the grocery store.  I am not a talented gardener...more of a "seat of the pants" gardener.  I plant something in the ground, pray for a few years, and cheer when I happen to have any success.  I love hydrangeas, and I can't believe that they have actually survived my lack of skills.  Tonight they are placed in the small urns that used to hold Seda France candles.

Candlelight sparkles from my Dollar Tree cut glass votives.  I love Dollar Tree, don't you?

Tonight I served Chicken Tetrazzini, a simple salad, hot garlic bread, and cheese cake for dessert.

We visited long into the evening (Sweet Mister was on a fishing trip in Colorado).

If you're coming my way, I'd love to set a special table for you, too.  Just give me holler and let me know you're on the way.

This week I'm joining:

Tablescape Thursday w/ Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Garden Friends Luncheon, May 25, 2017

The Garden Friends Bible study group met for lunch to have a fellowship time before we begin our summer break.  I was blessed to gather these priceless friends around my table.  Today I set a table for 8 in the dining room.  Come on in and join us!


It's Spring, and the perfect time for a celebration of color...


 and what says Spring?...


...more deliciously than...


TULIPS!  Thank you Whole Foods Market.


Of course, there were other pretty blossoms to be shared!


Now sometimes we need to amend the soil first, so I started with the Vietri charger,...


...which added just the right finish to the Mottahedheh Light Blue Lace charger.


Today's blooms are brought to you courtesy of the Spode Chelsea Garden dinner plate blossoms...


Close enough to smell the flowers


All good gardens need pretty ground cover, right?  Today it was the Reed & Barton Grande Renaissance flatware.






So many pretty posies...


There's even a tiny blossom on the Madeira linen napkin.


My wedding crystal Lalique Trèves wine was a fitting addition to the Waterford Simply Blue,


Amethyst,


Pink, 


and Lime garden art.

 And of course, one must have glorious potted plants.

Herend Queen Victoria...

So many incredible details

  A garden to be enjoyed any day of the year laid on a lawn provided by the Williams-Sonoma jacquard linen tablecloth.


Do you find inspiration for your garden while looking in magazines, or at a flower show perhaps?  Now you see where I found mine.

I'm always seated at this end of the table...a great view of my garden, but mainly closest to the kitchen.  Do you seat yourself in a place that allows you quickest access to the kitchen, too?

Every lovely bloom needs to be adequately watered...I like to place decanters at my table for my guests to be able to refill their water goblets without interrupting their conversations.

 Another delightful Garden Friends gathering.  Let me know if you're coming through our city on the prairie.  I'd love to set a lovely table just for you, and I know that my Garden Friends will join me to make you feel welcome.  There's always room for another blossom in my garden!

This week I'll be joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Through Life

The Style Sisters Centerpiece Wednesday linky party

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Coalport Leighton Sprays & a Birthday Party

I love birthday parties, and my favorite birthday celebrations are the ones that I get to host for my precious Garden Friends Bible Study.  This day we were celebrating Barb's birthday. 

 Barb loves blues, and pinks, and greens...lots of color, color, color!  We're seated in the dining room, and I've set a table for ten guests.  Come on in...

Not a lot of stacking going on today.  There are just some plates that it kills me to cover, and this is one of them.  I knew that Barb would adore the Coalport Leighton Sprays dinner plate.  I was also certain that she would love the extra pop of color provided by the Bormioli hot pink glass charger plate.

 My wedding sterling flatware, Reed & Barton Grande Renaissance, was close at hand, so on the table it went.  The Williams Sonoma white hemstitched linen napkin was quietly caught in the Coalport Countrywide napkin ring.   Continuing the color theme, the Stelle pink scroll goblet, a great get at Home Goods, partnered nicely with the  Waterford Simply Blue goblet.   I collected the Waterford Simply goblets over a span of probably five or six years on eBay.  I use them often.

A special birthday deserves a special centerpiece.  I have been pretty much gaga over the Mottahedeh Musee Des Arts Decoratifs tureen since I found it on eBay.  eBay Tip:  By the way there is currently one of these available on eBay, if you should want one.  The one that is listed right now is priced for about half of the usual list price.Still not dirt cheap, but comparatively it's a good deal.

The tureen was flanked by our Val St. Lambert crystal candlesticks and the Lenox urns filled with flowers from Whole Foods Market.   Easy peasy!  

 The Williams Sonoma soft blue linen hemstitched tablecloth provided a gentle, feminine  underpinning for my design.  Soft, feminine, colorful, and relaxing....elements for a  delightful afternoon of celebration and fellowship.

 Be still my heart...I so love to set a pretty table to honor my precious friends and family.  I pray that each of my guests always feels like the guest of honor.

Chicken pasta salad, fresh berries, hot bread, and a chocolate mousse birthday cake was served for lunch.

It was a delightful day.  We visited long into the afternoon.  Let me know if you're coming my way.  I would love to set a table for you.

This week I'm joining:

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Inspire Me Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Through Life

Thoughts of Home with White Spray Paint