Start with a Purple Glass

It all started when I saw some pretty purple glasses in the clearance pages of a Ballard Design catalog.  They were marked way down, plus I had a coupon, so I ordered them.  They arrived in just a few days, and they were even prettier in person.  If you look closely, you can see the pattern includes a crown. 

I asked my husband to bring home some purple flowers from the grocery store, and he obliged, selecting these lovely Dutch iris.

I tried several combinations of china patterns and placemats and even briefly considered ironing a giant white tablecloth before I came to my senses.  I only have one set of napkins in my stash that includes a little purple, and no other linens in the "right" purple, so I finally settled on using the plain white backside of some placemats.

I used plain white plates set on silver chargers -- really silver trays we received as wedding gifts.  Each one is a little different.

 Silver was apparently a LOT less expensive way back in 1972, because we received a lot of it!  Over the years my trays have played a role in many receptions, bridal and baby showers, etc.

Once I settled on using the silver trays as chargers, I pulled out more silver to continue the theme.  The silver goblets were also wedding gifts.

The tiny salt and pepper shakers belonged to my in-laws.  Aren't they sweet?

I happened to remember some purple candles, left from our Advent wreath, so after a quick polish of the candelabra, the centerpiece was complete.

Here's a placesetting. 

And here are a few views of the table.

Thank you for visiting! I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch later this week.

In Praise of Pansies

Pansies bloom throughout the winter in our part of Texas, and even our recent VERY cold (for us!) weather has not daunted their spirit.  Planted in October, when the weather finally cools off, they brighten the flower beds when most other flowering plants are dormant.  We are lazy gardeners, so we've started buying hanging baskets of pansies and planting those, rather than flats of the smaller plants.  Much less kneeling and digging required!  In past years, I have chosen the yellow and purple varieties, but this year, the purple and white ones spoke to me.  Here's one bed, at the end of our driveway.

I have been wanting to do a table celebrating pansies, but I have very little purple in my house.  In fact, I have trained my husband to bring home any color of flowers EXCEPT purple, because it just doesn't go with our decor.  So.  Time to hit Pier 1!  They had mailed me some good coupons, so off I went.  Just inside the front door on the Clearance table were purple hemstitched placemats and napkins.  Sold!  With my coupon, the napkins were under $3 each, my kind of steal deal.  They also had three different kinds of stemware in purple, but I reluctantly realized that a) I would not use them very often and b) I do not have room to store them.  Such restraint!

I knew that I wanted the pansies to be the star of the table, so I limited the color scheme to purple and white.  For the centerpiece, I pulled out my pansy ring and elevated it on a white cakestand.

I also wanted to use my bud vase napkin rings.

Here's a look at the placesetting.  Simple white plates with our wedding silver and crystal.

Also new to my collection are the silver pea pod place card holders.  I couldn't resist them in Williams-Sonoma's clearance sale.  I will also use them to identify dishes when we serve buffet-style.

Here are a few more photos of the table.  The host's view:

 The pansy ring looks like a cake in this one.

 A guest's view:

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be linking with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.