Cool Blue and Green

Once again, I must apologize to my faithful followers for falling off the tablescape wagon for a few weeks. BUT!  While in Chicago recently, I bought some new everyday dishes.  This makes my third set of everyday dishes in 38 years of marriage, which isn't TOO indulgent, is it?

The wonderful Bloomingdale's Home store in downtown Chicago had these dishes on sale, so we decided to get them and had them shipped home.  I've admired this Dansk pattern since first seeing it a few years ago.  The salad plate (and mug, not shown) have a slightly different design than the dinner plate and rim soup.  The salesman talked us out of buying bread and butter plates, saying that most customers don't use them, but we've decided we DO need them, mostly for serving appetizers and small desserts.

I have a lot of blue table linens, since my second everyday pattern included a lot of blue, but this time I went with this bright leaf green.  The placesetting also includes our everyday blue glasses, but I chose to use our silver instead of the everyday stainless, because the pattern includes a flower similar to the one on the dinner plate.

Here's a view of the table.  For a simple centerpiece, I pulled the preserved boxwood topiaries from the mantel and added some white mums in a pansy ring, a gift from my in-laws that I have enjoyed over the years. (Can you spot Mr. Champagne, our enormous cat, resting on the cool floor just outside the dining room?)

 

You can see the pansy ring a little better here.  It is perfect for short-stemmed flowers like pansies, but works with lots of other flowers, too.

Here's an overhead view.

Another angle...

And a last view of the whole table.

The details:
Dishes: Dansk Kristina and Florencia
Glasses:  Villeroy & Boch My Garden
Silver:  Lunt Belvedere
Placemats and napkins:  Crate & Barrel Outlet
Preserved boxwood topiaries:  Williamsburg catalog

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I hope you will leave a comment before you leave to visit all the wonderful tablescapes at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch!

Christmas 2010

I hope everyone is having a lovely and relaxing day-after-Christmas!  I plan to sit with my feet up all afternoon, if I can get away with it. We had a wonderful couple of days with our family.

Our daughter and her family arrived Christmas Eve morning, and our son flew in that afternoon.  My father-in-law joined us that evening for dinner.  Here are a few photos of the table I set for that meal.

I've had the plaid tablecloth for years.  I really like the emerald green glasses with it -- they first belonged to my husband's grandparents, then his parents, and now they've been passed down to us.  I believe they were originally a grocery store premium, but they have a lovely shape and wonderful color. The pattern is called both Inspiration and Burple, from what I've read about them.

I used my Christmas china, Dansk Winterfest, again for this table.  I have napkins that match the tablecloth, but they get lost in a sea of plaid, so I used some white ones tied with red and green cording. You can also see the tree-shaped placecard holders I featured in an earlier post.  My granddaughter wrote our names on the placecards when she arrived.

The centerpiece is almost the same as the one in my last tablescape, with the addition of some fresh greenery and some glittery green ornaments. 

Here's a view with the candles lit.

My adorable grandchildren posed for the obligatory Christmas pajamas photo before going to bed that night.

The men of the Dull and the Dutiful family opened matching shirts on Christmas Eve, which they wore on Christmas Day. From the left, my father-in-law, my husband, our son, and our son-in-law.

The grandchildren also dressed festively for Christmas Day.

My wonderful daughter gave me some gorgeous placemats and napkin rings for Christmas, so I quickly incorporated them into our table for Christmas dinner..

The centerpiece was simple -- just evergreens with white mums and green hypericum berries in a glass and silver bowl.

The new placemats are sparkly silver with ruffly edges, and the clear acrylic napkin holders have a small opening to hold flowers or other small items. I used more of the white mums and greenery for this table, and I'm looking forward to using these special holders on many tables in 2011!

Here's a look at the placesetting, with my wedding china, silver, and crystal. 

Here's another look at the table.

And here is my family, all waiting for pie after the meal!  We were blessed to have four generations around our table this year.  Clockwise from left are my father-in-law, our daughter, our grandson, our son-in-law, my husband, our granddaughter, and our soon-to-be-married son.  The wedding is now just a few days away!

Thank you for visiting! I hope you'll leave me a comment before you go!

Dansk Winterfest

For this week's Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch, I'm featuring my everyday Christmas dishes, Dansk Winterfest, which we use throughout the holidays.  I found these dishes at a wonderful Dansk outlet that used to be in the French Quarter in New Orleans.  I was so disappointed when I discovered it had closed!  The table is set in the breakfast room today.

 Here's a look at the placesetting.  I was drawn to the pattern because it includes blue, my favorite color, and because of its casual, modern look.

Here's a bit closer look at the pattern.

And here's the "rim shot."

 The pattern also includes glasses and mugs.  I'm using only the glasses for this table.

A few years after I bought the dishes and glasses, I found the matching candleholders at an outlet near Princeton, NJ, while visiting my daughter and son-in-law.

The simple centerpiece also includes a rustic wooden tree from Pier 1 several years ago.

Here's one last look at the table.

Finally, here's a closer look at the baker's rack, decorated for the season.

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I hope you will leave a comment before you check out the rest of the tablescapes set for this Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch!