Everyday Dishes

I really find this rather hard to believe...but after all of the tables I have set, I have never shown you my everyday dishes!  Well I would say that it is about time!

I purchased a complete set around 15 years ago, and sad to say, the manufacturer, Lindt-Stymeist is no longer in operation.  The pattern is called Craft Works (Green Tea)...

...just really pretty, rich shiny green stoneware with tiny brown freckles all over.  Apparently I'm not the only one fond of these dishes, since every time one gets broken (sigh) my kids act as if they have lost a family member.

Here I have layered the plates with my dark brown woven chargers which sit atop deep wine colored grass mats.

I've tucked my flatware into eggplant napkins, all held together with bamboo napkin rings.  Today I have chosen a tablecloth that I distinctly remember from my childhood.

It has a name Luther Travis printed on one of the corners, and when I did a Google search, I gathered that  Luther Travis was a common linen producer from the 1950's, and it is quite easy to find this exact cloth, and other similar to it, for sale on many websites.

So...lots of you probably remember this cloth from your early days!  The grapes on the cloth inspired me to continue with a "wine and dine" theme.

This larger-than-life wine glass is a special treasure that I found at my dear Aunt Tess' house.  Perhaps too big for drinking, put perfect as a centerpiece filled with grapes.

I'm allowed to have two centerpieces, aren't I?  These old wine corks make a great filler for my vase of...

...psychedelic pink roses.   While I love to drink wine from these cute little etched purple tumblers (vintage Pottery Barn),

I find they also make ideal holders for some tea lights.  Besides, I'll be enjoying my wine tonight from these...

...oversized globe goblets (Crate & Barrel, at least 2o years old).  Now, I bet you are saying to yourself..."I don't think she really sets the table like this on an everyday basis."  Sadly, that is true.  With the hectic schedules of two teenagers, dinner more often than not is a feeding frenzy rather than a relaxing gourmet meal.  Sorry to say that the typical placesetting on any given day resembles not this...

but rather this...

Yup, and no wine in those plastic tumblers either.  I think I would prefer to leave you with something just a little nicer to look at...

...like this everyday dinner table of my dreams!  I am quite sure that the following blog parties will be full of fabulous autumn entertaining ideas, so please join me.

Centerpiece Wednesday (The Style Sisters)

Tabletop Thursday (Between Naps on the Porch)

Feathered Nest Friday (French Country Cottage)

Home Sweet Home Friday  (The Charm of Home)

Potpourri Friday (2805)

Seasonal Sundays (The Tablescaper)

Let's Dish (Cuisine Kathleen)

Open House Party (No Minimalist Here)

Eggplant and Sunflowers

Eggplant and sunflowers?  Maybe a combination you haven't thought about before.  As the summer draws to a close, this table ties together the rich colors of the end-of-season flowers (sunflowers) and introduces the deeper tones (eggplant) of the impending autumn.  Just watch how nicely it all works.  I'm embarrassed to say that occasionally I forget some little hidden gem that I have squirreled away.  This time, my buried treasure were these fabulous...

...eggplant table linens.  Oh, I remember purchasing them many, many years ago from Pottery Barn...so long ago you might even call them Vintage PB.    The navy blue border is decorated with playful artichokes (one of my favorite vegetables)...

while the centers feature big, bright purple eggplants (a vegetable that I more recently have come to love)...against a deep golden background.

The napkins...match..and look so perfect against my green plates.

When I chose these placemats, I know I was thinking about my favorite Arabia Blue dinner plates.  These plates are very large,

so today I have chosen to use them as chargers, topping them with these Le Creuset fennel ceramic plates, a fabulous find from Sur la Table, and at their sidewalk sale no less!  These recycled green glass goblets and water glasses once again make an appearance at my table.

So versatile, they are a tablesetters go-to glassware.  Welcoming guests to my dinner table are these lovely pineapple candlestick holders.

I have had them for decades and they are always displayed somewhere in my home. 

Often times, flowers are the "wild card" of my tablescapes.  You just never know what is going to be fresh and beautiful at the market.

I think you will agree that these sunflowers were a perfect choice....nature's color palette at its finest!  End of Summer?...Beginning of Autumn? Call it what you will, these vibrant colors work together in any season.

I can't wait to see what my fellow dish lovers are up to this week, so please stop by the following parties...

Centerpiece Wednesday (The Style Sisters)

Tabletop Thursday (Between Naps on the Porch)

Feathered Nest Friday (French Country Cottage)

Home Sweet Home Friday  (The Charm of Home)

Potpourri Friday (2805)

Seasonal Sundays (The Tablescaper)

Let's Dish (Cuisine Kathleen)

Open House Party (No Minimalist Here)

Purple and Green

If I had to answer the question, "What is your favorite color?", I think I would say purple...and green.  Oh wait, that's two!  How can I pick just one, when there are so many great colors out there.  And when you begin to combine shades, magic happens.

So here is a tablescape featuring one of my favorite color combos...purple and green.  Several seasons ago, I picked up these...

....pretty purple woven mats from Target.  Then I layered...and I layered, starting with a simple plain white plate.  I have had these octagon-shaped French purple plates and olive bowls for years.

With their charming beaded borders, they are my "go to" bowls for many a pasta dinner.  Being the fabric lover that I am, I could not resist these two companion fabrics from Hobby Lobby.

The flipside has these same colors, this time as big zig-zaggy stripes.  The double sided napkins have a very nice "heavy" feel to them, AND. more importantly, are so fun to mix and match.

This time, I decided to make my napkins double sided.  The first side is covered in concentric circles of gorgeous lavender, fuscia, pea green and sea foam dots, all on a rich deep purple background.

I think the dark handles of my Aero flatware look perfect sitting atop these linens.  For glassware, I pulled from my stash these sweet little purple etched water (or wine) glasses...

...that I found at Pottery Barn many, many years ago.  And not to forgett green, I also added these beautiful optic mint green flutes (Horchow, years ago)...

...which add height and sparkle to the table.  My centerpiece is oh-so simple...just some fresh purple Fuji mums lined up in my new...

...recycled green glass vase made in Mexico from Pottery Barn.  I'm envisioning many ways to use this versatile piece.  So there you have it...

...a simple happy tablescape celebrating two of my favorite colors, purple and green!  Coming next...  my first patio tablesetting.  Please drop in, you're all invited!

Hurricane Weather!

I know I promised the final installment of "What was I Thinking...the Blue Challenge", but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to set a table for one of my favorite holidays, Mardi Gras!

I may be a Midwestern girl...but quite honestly...I can make a pretty darn good bowl of gumbo.  So not surprisingly, I just love to throw a Mardi Gras bash...with all the trimmings...and lots of them!  But trust me...just keep piling it on for one fabulous and festive table.

A few years ago, I found this perfect gold, purple and green harlequin checked fabric and made a few simple tablecloths.  Let the layering begin.

I started with some bright gold placemats and then just used my plain white plates and soup bowls, dolled up with some shiny, feathery masks and a few gold doubloons.

Shhh...Just this once I used some purple and yellow paper napkins.   But I wrapped up my fun Aero flatware (Crate & Barrel) with a few strands of colorful Mardi Gras Beads.

No Mardi Gras party would be complete without a few great cocktails.  I'll be serving Hurricanes, just like in New Orleans.

These ceramic chili peppers normally hang alongside the kitchen sink, but today they are my centerpiece!  Why not??

I couldn't resist these Mardi Gras beads on steroids.  For this party, more is definitely more!

Just a few colorful votives make my table twinkle.  For the finishing touch on this festive table, I've used...

cute little Tabasco sauce bottles as placecards!  Excuse me...but I could really use on of those Hurricanes right about now.  Please check back next week for the Blue Challenge.  I promise, it will not dissappoint!

I Almost Missed the Missoni Boat

I like to think of myself as someone who knows what's going on in the world, particularly when shopping is involved.  So how did I possibly miss the recent Missoni phenomenon at Target?

There I was that eventful Tuesday, reading a news story on my computer and learning that, apparently, all of the Missoni merchandise had already sold out!  How did I miss this?  I didn't get anything?  Who is Missoni?  I wanted in.  Something bright or ziggy baggy.  Luckily, weeks later, I stumbled upon these two (yes, just two) dinner plates at my local Target.  I quickly grabbed them, then the wheels started spinning.

I remembered those pink and purple honeycomb and bee napkins I made over the summer (Raspberry Hive Fabric by Patty Young for Michael Miller).   Seems like they found their soul mates with these Missoni plates.

And those eggplant grass mats that I recently purchased from Crate & Barrel...I knew they would come in handy time and time again.

My bright green Lyla wine glasses from the Crate seem right at home on this table.  

Tying it all together is a gauzy purple table runner (actually a Converse scarf from Target)!  I am so glad I got my chance to jump on the Missoni bandwagon.

As always, remember to check out all of the other creative tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch every Thursday!