Trying a New Color Scheme

Last week's tablescape by Rett at The Gazebo House inspired me to try a tablescape using a new-for-me color scheme -- purple and green.  I don't have much purple, but in shopping the house, I found a few items to include, and the grocery store contributed a few more.

The placesetting includes the leaf green placemats and napkins I've used in several tablescapes, some wicker chargers, plain white plates, square lavender melamine plates, green stemware, and our everyday stainless flatware.  

The clear napkin rings were a gift from my daughter, and they have an opening to hold flowers and water.  I have really enjoyed using these! 

Here's an across the table view, in which you can see another purple item I found, a glass carafe that was a gift from my in-laws years ago.  It's perfect for keeping iced water or tea handy. 

At the other end of the table, a bowl of plums brings in another shade of purple.

For the centerpiece, I found some lavender daisy mums at Sam's -- ten stems for $4.88!

Here's a view of the whole table.

One more look at a daisy mum!

The details:
Green placemats and napkins, Crate & Barrel outlet
Wicker chargers and white plates, Pier 1
Lavender melamine, Target a few years ago, I think
Green glasses, The Great Indoors
Flatware, Towle Beaded Antique
Napkin rings, gift from daughter via Color, Inc. in Nashville

Thanks for visiting today!  I'll be linking up with Tablescape Thursdays at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch, so please visit her blog to see lots more tablescapes!

Weeknight Supper

Last weekend I co-hosted a bridal shower for a friend's daughter, whose wedding is in September.  Her favorite flowers are sunflowers, so we used two dozen to decorate the buffet and gift tables.  I supplied the flowers, so brought them home with me -- spilling water in my car and breaking a vase, but that's another story.  I have enjoyed having a large vase of them on my coffee table and a smaller one on the breakfast table and realized I should use them in a tablescape.  I posted a sunflower tablescape last year featuring green and gold elements, and at first I couldn't think how to set a different one.  Then, I had an idea.

A few months ago, I bought four placesettings of these dishes, which I had admired for a long time, especially in this beautiful color, called forget-me-not.  They also come in sage green and a creamy white. Here are the dinner plate and salad plate.

Here's the dinner plate alone. I really like the elegant simplicity of this design.

And here's the pasta bowl, which is a wonderful wonky shape!

The placesetting also includes the sunflower napkins I used in last year's tablescape, our everyday stainless, and the blue stemware that sweet Marigene of In the Middle of Nowhere sent me last year.

I thought their ribbed design worked well with the ribbed spiral of the plates.

Here's another view of the table.  I like the look of the pale blue dishes against the dark wood of the bare table.

The sunflowers are still looking good after five days!

The details:
Dishes:  Sophie Conran for Portmeiron in Forget-Me-Not blue, Bloomingdale's Home
Glasses:  Sirrus Blue by Libbey, courtesy of Marigene!
Stainless flatware:  Beaded Antique by Towle
Napkins:  Williams-Sonoma (end of season sale last year)

And there you have it -- a simple, weeknight table that lets the sunflowers shine.  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!

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!

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day a week early with my father-in-law, because we'll be with our son and daughter-in-law on the actual day. I bought these placemats and the matching napkins at Williams-Sonoma last year, but hadn't used them before.  The pattern reminds me of one of my husband's favorite shirts, so I thought they would work well for a Father's Day table.

The placesetting also includes our everyday dishes, glasses, and stainless, as well as a steak knife -- because you can't celebrate men in Texas without serving steak!

For a simple centerpiece that echoed the colors of the placemats, I used yellow spider mums in cobalt blue glass bottles.  Spider mums give a lot of bang for the buck!

Here's a look at the whole table. Notice anything wrong?  I didn't -- and took a series of photos this way.  See those napkins piled neatly to one side?  Sigh.

Here's the table with the napkins in place. 

And here's one last look at the spider mums. 

Happy Father's Day!  Thank you for visiting, and I hope you'll leave a comment before you leave to visit more tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch.  Tablescape Thursday is not to be missed!

Sister Surprises

This week's table is set outdoors and features a wonderful surprise gift my youngest sister sent me for no reason at all.  I was thrilled to open a big, elegantly wrapped box from Color, a home furnishings store in Nashville that I can't wait to visit, to find turquoise placemats, napkins, and nests with faux eggs!  All the makings for a spring table!  Isn't she a sweet sister?

Here's a closer look at a placesetting.  The straw placemats have a looped border and embroidered dots around the edge. 

Here's a closer look at the nest and eggs.  They look quite real.  After I set the table and took some photos, I went inside for a while.  My husband, who was working in the yard, came inside to warn me that birds had been checking out the table! 

Here's a view that shows some of the beautiful live oaks that shade our backyard.  You may also notice the solar rings on the pool, which we use to help warm the pool water to a comfortable temperature.  It's not warm enough for me yet! 

I got a new camera for Mother's Day that I'm slowly learning to use, so I'm including the next photo of a geranium bloom.  I haven't been able to take really closeup shots like this before!

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!

Easter Sunday Dinner

Are you tired of seeing tables set for Easter? I'm not! I have really enjoyed seeing all kinds of Easter tables -- whimsical, elegant, casual, formal, outdoor, or what-have you! I appreciate the inspiration from so many talented tablescapers and always look forward to Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch.

I've pulled out my "good stuff" for this table -- my wedding china, crystal, and silver chosen almost 40 years ago -- plus some newer finds.  Here's the view from the kitchen doorway. 

A little closer look:

 

The placesetting starts with some new placemats and napkins from Pier 1 in a pale shade of turquoise.  They look almost baby blue in these photos, for some reason.  The china, Lenox Windsong, includes flowers in the same shade.  The crystal is Lenox Moonspun (and is shared by several bloggers who married around the same time we did!), and the silver is Lunt Belvedere. 

Here's a diner's view:

The table is centered with candles and small arrangements of cream-colored roses and alstroemeria in silverplate julep cups. The roses were $7.99 a dozen this week at HEB, and I filled in with the alstroemeria for a "fluffier" look.  The roses opened up after I took these photos -- I was too impatient!

Here's a different angle:

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!

 

Lemon Love

This week's table features lemons, inspired by a printed runner I found on deep clearance at Bloomingdale's on a recent trip.  The price wasn't marked, so I asked a saleslady, who replied, "$2.99."  Sold!  It took about twenty minutes to figure out how to ring it up without a price tag, but I was determined to leave with the runner at that price!

The centerpiece just HAD to feature fresh lemons, which I piled into a Villeroy and Boch hurricane I've had for several years.  After taking these photos, three of the lemons were used to make a lemon bundt cake.

Given the bright, cheerful print of the runner, I kept the placesetting simple -- a plain yellow plate (Pier 1) topped with a Bordallo salad plate in Basketweave-Blue.  I only have two of the salad plates, so this is a table for two. 

Then I added blue heart-shaped covered ramekins from a Le Creuset outlet, blue goblets (Villeroy and Boch), blue napkins, and our everyday stainless.

Here's a closer look at the dishes against the runner.

Here's a view of the table.  I added blue glass candlesticks and candles to the lemon-filled hurricane.

I think the bright colors of the runner go well with my newly painted breakfast area and blue and white dishes on the baker's rack.

Here's a "diner's view" down the table.

It's a very simple table, but that's my style!  Thank you for visiting my table, and I hope you'll leave a comment before you visit the wonderful tablescapes featured on Tablescape Thursday this week at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch.