Fun in Nashville

Last weekend my Dallas sister and I flew (separately) to Nashville to visit our baby sister and her family -- and to see our amazing 15-year-old niece as the Fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof.  It was a jam-packed, less-than-48-hours trip, and SO much fun!  Besides eating at some fabulous places and seeing the terrific production of Fiddler, we also shopped a little.  Okay, a lot!  One MUST on my to-do list any time I'm in Nashville is visiting the shop Color, which has wonderful gifts, dishes, jewelry, decorative items, and a delightful staff who are happy to help shoppers.  One staff member showed me a new idea for using placemats and napkins to set a pretty table.  I managed to get my purchases into my carry-on suitcase, but just barely!

Usually, my tables are all about the dishes, because I love different patterns of china and I usually start by choosing a pattern or two, then go from there.  In fact, I didn't even own any plain white dishes until about a year ago.  This time, however, I started with the new placemats, layering these fun twig ones over some lime green round ones.  Yes, those are real twigs!  Just picture me wrestling those placemats into a small roll-aboard suitcase!

I added a plain white plate and a matching lime green hem-stitched linen napkin in the clear napkin rings my daughter bought me -- also from Color! -- for Christmas a couple of years ago.   Here's the placesetting.

Here you can see the green stemware I chose to go with the placesetting.

Here's a better look at the napkin ring, which has an opening to hold water for flowers.  I used these pink-tinged yellow roses from the grocery store along with some rosemary from the back yard.

I like the juxtaposition of the sterling silver and the rustic placemat.

After using roses in the napkin rings, I only had a few left, so decided to use the bottles-in-a-wire-carrier that I used for another recent table, adding a few rosemary sprigs.  This is how the roses looked on Saturday.

By Sunday afternoon, they had opened up beautifully!

Here's a view of the whole table, taken before the roses opened.  Very simple, but I like simple!

And one more look at the roses!

If you get to visit Nashville, plan to stop at Color -- tell them Tricia sent you! Thank you for visiting my table this week, and be sure to visit Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish and Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday!

Primary Colors

The inspiration for my table this week was this tablecloth I found on clearance at the Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma Outlet in San Marcos last weekend.  I could spend hours in that store!  I love the border print, and the yellow goes nicely in my yellow breakfast area.

I wanted to bring out the little bit of red in the border print, so I asked my husband to bring home some red flowers from the grocery store.  (He does all the grocery shopping and cooking.  And, yes, I am spoiled!)  He came home with these red Gerberas, which were perfect for the little bottles in a holder that I got for Mother's Day.  It's from the NapaStyle catalog, if you're interested.

Here's another view.  The chicken-wire holder is set on top of a lazy susan, also from Napa Style.

Since the table was for a Sunday night supper, I set it with our everyday dishes, stainless, and stemware.

Here's a closer look at a matching napkin.

Here's another view of the table.  I thought it needed a little something.

So I added some of my Le Creuset covered ramekins.  They really pull out the blue print of the tablecloth.

I love these cheery flowers!

In this photo you can see the baker's rack, which is also decorated in blue and yellow for the summer.

And -- the rim shot!

The details:
Dansk Kristina and Florencia dishes
Towle Beaded Antique stainless
Villeroy and Boch My Garden stemware

Thank you for visiting my red, yellow, and blue table this week!  I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch this week.

My Collection Grows. . .

Last month many of my family members gathered in Little Rock to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday.  We had a wonderful, four-generation weekend together, with lots of love and laughter shared.  Here's a photo of Mama, ready to go teach Sunday School.  (She teaches a group of women ages 85 and up -- the "Heaven Bound" class.)  I hope I am as active and healthy as she is when I'm her age!

Shortly after I arrived at my parents' house, Mama said she had a surprise for me.  "But it's YOUR birthday!" I protested.  She led me into her living room, and there on her table was a set of china!  That very morning while reading the want ads, Mama had seen a set of Castleton Gloria for sale -- eight place settings for a very good price.  She called the seller, told him she wanted it, and he delivered it -- all before I arrived that afternoon.  Mama knows I love china, so she decided I "needed" this set.  Who was I to argue with my mama?? 

Now, the tricky part was -- how was I going to get home with the china, since I'd flown?  Mama had already thought of that.  My daughter and granddaughter were driving up from Houston, and they could take it back to Texas, then bring it to me the next time they came to my house.  Problem solved!

And if new china weren't enough, my sister from Nashville had brought me a gift from my favorite store there, Color -- a set of placemats and napkins that went perfectly with the Gloria, as well as some wonderful hydrangea napkin rings!  Do I have a great family, or what??

I know you're ready for some pictures now, if you're still with me after that long backstory.  This past weekend my daughter and her family visited us and brought the china, so at last I've been able to play with my new dishes and set a table using the placemats, napkins, and napkin rings from my sister.  Here's a look at the dinner plate -- taupe roses on cream, trimmed with robin's egg blue near the rim and a gold-trimmed pearl edge.

Castleton Gloria pattern

Here's a look at the placesetting.

  This closeup shows the perfect color match between the plates' trim and the table linens my sister chose.

Here's an even better look, and you can also see the wonderful pattern of the placemats.

Of course, to go with those adorable napkin rings, I needed some hydrangeas for the centerpiece!  I was in luck -- HEB, our local grocery store, had them in just the right color. 

Here's a view of the table, set for four.

One little detail I love about Castleton patterns is that the inside of the teacups is usually decorated. 

Here are some other examples, from my mother's and sister's patterns.  I've enjoyed posting tablescapes with their china before.  Click on the captions if you'd like to see more.

Castleton Empire

Castleton Ma Lin

Castleton Mayfair

Here's another view of the table.

And one more look at this pretty pattern. . . .

Now the only challenge will be finding a place to store all these new dishes!  I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen this week, so be sure to visit to see other dish-related posts!

Pink Geraniums and Polka Dots

My pink geraniums have been enjoying the early summer weather, and one pot of them had so many blooms that I thought it deserved its very own tablescape.  They almost look neon pink in this photo.

I don't have much pink in tableware, but I did pick up four melamine salad plates in Macy's when we were in Chicago recently, and they feature some pink.

Here's a look at a placesetting, with light turquoise placemats and darker napkins, both gifts from one of my sisters. 

Here's a little closer view of this fun melamine pattern. 

And here's a view of the full pattern.  I'd spotted these earlier in the year, but when they were 50% off, I had to get a few!

The turquoise stemware is acrylic, found at Target earlier this spring.

I've had red geraniums the past several years, but this year decided to go for the hot pink ones, and I really like the pop of color they add to our patio.

Another view of the tabletop. . . .

And a view back toward the house.  You can see the solar rings floating in our way-too-shady pool, attempting to warm up the water to a comfortable temperature. 

Another view. . .

One more close-up . . . .

Thanks for visiting my backyard table this week! 

I will be linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish party on Wednesday night, so be sure to stop by and see lots of fun dish-related links!

In Praise of Everyday Dishes

For this week's Let's Dish party at Cuisine Kathleen, I thought I'd show you my everyday dishes -- all three sets.  When I was a bride-to-be almost forty (yikes!) years ago, I chose two patterns -- one for everyday and one for my formal china.  Some brides also chose "in between" dishes.  I guess I have always gone for color -- no plain-but-elegant white plates for me!  Here's my first everyday pattern, Royal Doulton's Fireglow. Isn't it cheery?  I thought it had a warm, "kitchen-y" feel.  It was well-priced at the time, so I received many placesettings as wedding gifts. I kept 12 and traded the others for some of my good china and crystal.  I've posted several tablescapes with this pattern, and you can see two of them here and here.

Fireglow was an early freezer-to-oven-to-table pattern, and it included some fun pieces like these cute ramekins.  I used these everyday dishes for 25 years, then decided I needed some new ones as a reward for sticking with Mr. D&D all those years!

I looked for new everyday dishes I loved for nearly two years before finding Mikasa's Windsor Park in an outlet store while visiting Oregon.  I loved its bright colors, so I had it shipped home.  In the tablescape below, I highlighted the orange fruit in the pattern.

I've enjoyed using these dishes with yellow and blue accent pieces, too. Here's one of those tablescapes.

That pattern kept me happy for another dozen years or so, but about a year ago, I was browsing in Chicago's Bloomingdale's Home store and was drawn to some dishes that were on sale.  I decided it was time for a third set of everyday dishes!  This Dansk pattern -- Kristina & Florencia -- isn't quite as colorful as my first two patterns, but I love its simpler style.  It made its blog debut in this post.

All three of these patterns have been used day in and day out to serve family meals -- the true workhorses in my ever-growing dish collection.  What's your favorite everyday pattern?  Have you had more than three sets (so far)?  Thanks for visiting today, and please stop by Cuisine Kathleen to see other fun dish posts!