Summer's End, Blue & Yellow

Hi, all, and a special hello to Susan.  I'm new to blogging (as some of you will be able to tell when you see a few glitches I can't seem to fix), but I'm sooo excited to do my first-ever link!  I'll be linking to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!   What a fun day it was when I stumbled into her blog!  Thanks for your help, Susan!

Labor Day weekend...most table settings are of red, white, and blue, and that's where I was headed.  (But I have to admit, I don't "get" why it's RWB...it's not a patriotic holiday; it's a day to celebrate work and our ability and freedome to work!)  So back to the original idea--I knew I wanted to use my blue and white Spode dishes, but somehow the red just wasn't coming.  I found myself shifting gears and wanting a more sedate setting, to represent a day of rest and to recognize summer's official end--her last hurrah.



I LOVE blue and white and had wanted blue and white dishes, but I wanted florals.  About 10 years ago, I was the chairwoman for our church's Mother-Daughter Tea, where we could host and decorate our tables, and lo and behold, I'm at Macy's and find THE blue and white dishes!  I don't remember how I explained the "need" for more dishes to my husband :)   I bet there aren't many women who use the church tea as an excuse to buy yet another set of dishes. :)
The salad/dessert plates are The Blue Collection, and the dinner plates are Delamere. 

 Hydrangeas, another favorite, from our garden.  The miniature tureen is a gift from my mother many years ago--isn't it precious?  It has its own matching ladle.  The seeded glass candle holders are something I'd wanted for a long time.  They were a Christmas present from my husband a couple of years ago, from a nice shop, The Morgan House, in Dublin, Ohio.


 The napkins are from TJ Maxx, years ago...well before I got the dishes.

 One of my recent finds--Spode Imperial Garden salt & pepper shakers--were a GREAT buy:  $6 at the Powell Antique Mall near our home.  Just what I needed to complement my blue and white, because, if you look carefully, they have just a touch of yellow.  Perfect.

  

 The picture of the sunflower?  From our garden, and there is a real, honest-to-goodness bee visiting it!  Perfect timing.

 Yesterday's thrifting outing netted this precious silverplate tray from GW.  It was pretty tarnished, and I didn't notice a spot that was a bit rough...oh, oh.  But I used a fabulous cleaner that is NOT TOXIC, and poof!  It's gone!

I cut the hydrangeas several weeks ago, and they get prettier as they dry.

I love the scroll handle on top.




 

Can you see Mrs. Bee now?  This sunflower must've come from bird seed we had in another part of the yard...isn't Mother Nature amazing?!



That's it for my first link to any blog!  I'll be joining Susan of Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday, so I'll be looking for all of you to enjoy your art!