Mama's Ma Lin

Every time I go to Little Rock to visit my parents, I look forward to playing with Mama's dishes.  I have blogged about at least two different tables set with Mama's beautiful Castleton Ma Lin china, but this time I wanted to try yet another color scheme.  Here's a photo of the pattern from Replacements.com. 

Replacements.com

I have set a spring table highlighting the yellow in the pattern . . .

and a fall table highlighting the "cinnamon" color, as Castleton described it:

This time, though, I wanted to try a spring table to bring out the pretty greens in the pattern.  I knew Mama didn't have any green table linens, so I stuffed some in my roll-aboard suitcase.  (The section designed to hold a carefully folded man's suit is perfect for placemats and napkins, if you ever need to know!)

Here's how the placesetting looked with green linens:

The placesetting included Mama's sterling, Reed and Barton's French Renaissance.  I love the shape of the salad fork's tines -- perfect for cutting through lettuce ribs or a firm pie crust.  I also included the iced tea spoon, since I'm using her iced tea glasses.

 Mama's crystal is Fostoria's Navarre, a beautiful etched pattern with the prettiest stem design.

Mama already had the perfect centerpiece on her table to go along with the blue in the Ma Lin design -- blue candles in her pair of double-light candlesticks and an arrangement of silk hydrangeas.

Here's a closer look at one of the candlesticks.  If anyone can identify the pattern, I would love to know it!  (Oops, you can see my striped shirt in the mirror as I take the photo!)

Here's one more look at the placesetting:

And one view of the table.  By the way, the mirror over the table used to hang in my grandfather's jewelry store in a small Arkansas town.  He used it to see who had entered the store as he sat at his workbench, repairing watches.

Thank you for visiting!  I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

President's Day Collage

This collage is from photos taken two years ago for a President's Day table, using commemorative plates from my in-laws' collection.  Best wishes to those of you who have today off from work!  (Such is not the case for me, alas.)

Click here to see the original post.

I am linking to Mosaic Monday for the first time. 

Pretty Primroses

When I spotted these bright primroses in Home Depot's garden area, I had to bring some home with me.  Their vivid colors and textured leaves are so appealing, especially in wintertime. 

 I particularly love the two-color varieties -- so cheery!

 Set into matching pots, the plants made an instant centerpiece for a simple Sunday lunch table.

Most Sundays my father-in-law joins my husband and me for lunch after church, so the table is set for three.  The menu is simple -- broccoli cheese soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches this week -- so we only needed soup bowls and bread plates.

A place set with our everyday dishes (Dansk Kristina and Florencia), glasses and flatware.

I failed to get a picture of dessert -- heart-shaped tart shells filled with a lemon curd-whipped cream mixture and topped with fresh strawberries.  We are ready for spring!

Thank you for visiting my table today! I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen this week.

Red and White

White tulips inspired this table.  They were nearly on their last legs by the time Saturday rolled around and I had some time to set a table in the breakfast area.

 I love the thin pink stripes revealed when the tulips fully opened.

It was a very gray day -- and weekend, as it turned out -- so I had to turn on the lights to take pictures.

For the placesettings I used Royal Doulton Fireglow dinner plates -- the first everyday pattern I chose back in 1972.  I topped them with plain red salad plates and added white napkins.  Little girls' bead bracelets for Valentine's Day served as napkin rings.  (I found the bracelets at Joann's and plan to give them to my granddaughter to share with her friends.) 

I found these little doily-inspired containers at Ikea and thought they'd work nicely holding votive candles.  They also had them in larger sizes, for holding potted plants, and I wish I'd bought a few of those, too!

Here's a closer look at the Fireglow pattern, which I still love today, as well as my silver, Lunt Belvedere.  We brides of the seventies were lucky that silver was relatively inexpensive back then.  I think my forks are listed at Replacements for $119 each these days! 

 One last artsy shot!

Thank you for visiting my table today!  I will be linking to:
Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish
Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday

Mardi Gras Table

When we moved to Baton Rouge in the early 1990s, we were astonished by the culture in south Louisiana.  It was as if we'd moved to a different country, not just another southern state.  One of the most surprising revelations was that Mardi Gras was a SEASON, not just one day.  Starting right after Christmas (on Epiphany), there were parties and parades and king cakes.  Lots of king cakes!  The tradition in my department at LSU was that whoever found the baby in the king cake had to bring the next king cake -- the next day.  So king cake was available almost every day, right up until the last work day before the long Mardi Gras break.  (LSU had Monday through noon Ash Wednesday off.  Miss that!)

After eight years there, we moved to Texas, and our area doesn't really celebrate Mardi Gras.  But I have wanted to set a Mardi Gras table and finally did so this year.  I was stymied in the past by a lack of purple in my tablescaping supplies, but a recent trip to Sur la Table in Austin remedied that.  Just inside the front door, in a Final Clearance basket, was a set of purple napkins marked at 50% off the lowest marked price.  I was able to shop the house for everything else.

Now, this table is quite tame by Mardi Gras standards.  But by The Dull and the Dutiful standards, it is highly festive!

The centerpiece -- a hurricane filled with Mardi Gras beads in the traditional colors of green, gold, and purple, and some sparkly frou-frou garland.  Note the fancier necklaces draped over the chair backs.

The purple napkins!  I think the fringe complements the garland.  The simple placesetting consists of a gold charger, white plate, and our silver flatware.

An across-the-table view of the necklace featuring crawfish.

I had purple candles on hand left over from the Advent wreath, so I jazzed them up with some Mardi Gras beads.

My vintage Anchor Hocking "Burple" glasses have proven to be wonderfully versatile and provided the perfect green.

This necklace features alligators, if you can't tell.

Another view of the table:

On the menu?  Sensation salad, jambalaya, French bread, and king cake, of course!  Y'all stop by and we'll laissez les bon temps rouler!

I'll be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Winter Table

This week's theme for Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish party is "Snow - Ice - Winter," and I wanted to play along.  However, snow and ice are rarities here in central Texas, and the day I set this table the temperature hit 73 degrees!  Nevertheless, winter brought to mind bare branches, absence of color, and shiny, reflective surfaces, so I tried to include those elements.

I began with an ecru tablecloth, layered with twig placemats.

I chose to use my Lenox Windsong, with its pale pattern and platinum trim, along with my Lenox Moonspun crystal and silver goblets, all of which were wedding gifts (now 40 years ago -- I'm vintage!).

 I'm using the cream soups in the placesetting, as winter menus at our house often feature soup.

Mercury glass, crystal, and silver add shine and reflection to the table.

I added my favorite napkin ring bud vases with a sprig of rosemary from the garden for a bit of nature.  

For the centerpiece, some (faux) pussy willow branches "planted" in coffee beans, add a bit more nature to the table.

Since the days are short in winter, the table needed plenty of candlelight.  I used mercury glass vases for larger votive candles and little "jeweled" tea light holders, a gift from one of my sisters, for each placesetting. 

The view toward the entryway:

The full table:

I like the juxtaposition of the twigs with the silver and china, but I miss the color that flowers add!  Oh, well -- spring will soon be here! 

Here's a candlelight view:

Thank you for visiting my table this week!

Sunny Yellow

My table this week came together after my husband brought home yellow tulips.  It features a couple of Christmas gifts -- one from my husband and one from our daughter.  This unusual vase was in a HUGE box under the tree.  My husband saw it in a catalog and thought it looked interesting, so decided to surprise me.  It has six openings for flower stems, and makes a dramatic centerpiece.

Here's a closer look at how the stems emerge from the vase.

The other Christmas gift was a set of eight yellow appetizer plates from our daughter. 

The yellow plates go nicely with my Royal Doulton Fireglow dishes -- my original everyday dishes.

To continue the yellow and green theme, I chose the vintage forest green glasses that belonged to my husband's grandparents.

Since my pansies are blooming, I brought a few inside to add a little more yellow to the table, using my bud vase napkin rings.

The Fireglow pattern features all kinds of flowers, so I decided two types of flowers on the table weren't too many!

Here's the across-the-table view:

And a view of the table:

Here's a view of our dining room in mid-afternoon.

And I took one more photo the next day, after the tulips had begun to open a bit.

Thank you for visiting me this week!  I will be linking to:
Cuisine Kathleen
Between Naps on the Porch