Sooo Versatile, Blue and White

Hi!  Boy, I’ve been a way for most of July, all of August, and part of September…not too sure where the time went, but I do have great memories of summer—family vacation at the beach, time with babies, evening rides in our convertible.  So as you can well imagine, I’m not…quite…ready for fall.  Getting there, as I always do, but not there quite yet.

Earlier in the summer I did a blue and white table, then made minor changes to it with different color accents to explore the versatility of lovely, bright, serene, blue and white.

Today’s post is about, well, BLUE AND WHITE.

  Isn’t it serene?  The table was set for a romantic dinner for two.

Let’s take a closer look:

Blue, white, crystal, and silver.

Salad plates:  Spode, The Blue Room Collection

Dinner plates:  Spode Delamere

Chargers:  Silverplate, a purchase years ago.

Sterling:  Lunt Eloquence

Individual salt and pepper shakers:  Sterling, purchased years ago.

Linen napkin:  Pottery Barn

Napkin rings:  Sterling, baptismal gift to our firstborn, from his godmother.  One has his name engraved on it, and the other was left blank for his future bride.  Isn’t that a sweet gift?  We must get hers engraved now; it’s time to turn them over.  But it’ll be hard…I’ve loved being their keeper for 30+ years.

Waterford Kinsale vase, silverplate pitcher, and Bombay Company blue and white cut votive cup.

Waterford Lismore Tall goblet, vintage Alana wine stem (now archived by Waterford).  Vintage pressed glass dish for lemon slices to brighten the water in the pitcher.

Do you love the sweet, intricate detail of vintage linens?  I can hardly resist them when I see them in antique shops.

Dessert will also be served.

Pressed glass dishes:  I haven’t researched them yet, but they’re a recent, and now favorite find.

The sweet cordials are very vintage, and very special—they were a gift from my husband’s dear, dear aunt.

The two bowls are sterling, from my collection, and the serving tray?  A garage sale find years ago (a set of 3!)!

The beautiful vintage linen napkins are in perfect condition; a purchase this spring at the Springfield (Ohio) Antique Show.

If you really are looking closely, the dessert spoons are not from the Lunt set.  They are 1847 Rogers Brothers vintage silverplate; a hostess gift from my SIL.

Champagne flutes were a wedding gift from another SIL.  I don’t know the pattern, but they have been used for many, many Mimosas over the years, because I love them.  The stem is frosted.

The lavender is from our garden.

Evening arrives…

Did you think that the daylight table was perhaps a little empty?  There was a plan…for candleholders.

And yes, we DID have a candlelight dinner.

 

Do you love blue and white as much as I do?  I’d love to hear what colors you have woven into your table settings that started out as blue and white.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal

I haven't done a tablescape for a few weeks; afterall, we did have a wedding to prepare for--and happily.  But amazingly, I've missed my tablescape blogging friends, and since I'm new to blogging I have now realized that there are different friends for different types of posts.  I'll get this all figured out soon, I hope.  :)

I've done quite a bit with fall now, so I wanted to do something a little different.  I decided I wanted to do a fall table, but using my blue and white floral Spode...something that I could maybe use for our Thanksgiving table.  Hmmmm.  I usually think of blue and white as a cool, summer setting, or perhaps a winter one, but fall?  I really had to think on that one. 

Then it came to me--add brown.  Not orange (I'm kind of OD'd on orange right now).  I envisioned small twig pumpkins for each placesetting, but how many stores would I have to hit before I found them (I did hit 2--nothing of the sort).  So "shopping" at home was the next best thing, and here's the end result.

My first challenge was the table cover/linens, because I wanted the warmth of textile.
My pashmina/silk shawl, in blues and browns and golds fit the bill.
For the real Thanksgiving dinner I think I'll use a neutral tablecloth, and use the shawl as
an additional layer.

Because the shawl has gold in it too, I wanted to work with golds instead of silver...
and it just so happens that my dear grandmother gave me a set of gold flatware
years ago.  It was starting to come together.
I used our Lenox Eternal dinner plates as chargers, only to bring the touch of gold and
additional dimension.
Blue & white dishes:  Spode Delamere
Brown turkey plates:  Royal Stafford
Water goblets:  Pottery Barn, many years ago
Wine stems:  Pristine by Reizart/Gorham

Amazingly, my shawl has blue accents...perfect for the dishes.
Isn't it awesome how things sometimes just come together?
We might not know where we're headed with a tablescape, and it slowly begins
to evolve as we shop the house.  FUN.

More accessories falling into place...
The acanthus leaf centerpiece from my mother years ago, snippets of brown leaves
from the fall decorating bins, and candles and crystals from
our son's recent wedding.
Repurposing!

Remember Bombay Company? Much of my blue and white is from there...still miss that store.
The beautiful paperweight was a gift from our DIL's uncle--handmade by him!  What a beautiful piece!

Rumpled linen napkins (Crate & Barrel) to match the rumpled shawl.

See who's watching all the goings on??  Jack-o-lanterns!  They're making sure
I don't forget THEIR holiday and go directly to Thanksgiving!

Daytime...Chance to see what the REAL table will look like.

So tell me...will you be serving Thanksgiving at your house?

Do you know how you're going to set your table?  I'm glad to have my table setting

"issues" resolved!  But I'm wondering about the candles.  Do you light candles

during daylight meals?  And if no, do you still have them on the table?

I love to hear from you. Every comment goes to my email, so I won't miss it.  And if you're

kind enough to follow me I promise to follow you back.

I'm joining these fabulous parties this week, and I hope you will too.

 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

 Homemaker on a Dime, Sunday at http://www.homemakeronadime.com/p/link-parties.html

 Motivated Monday at http://becolorful.typepad.com/  

 Debbie’s Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

 Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

 Courtney’s, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

 Creative Princess at http://acreativeprincess.blogspot.com/



China Cabinet Metamorphosis

The time has come...with our son's wedding in three weeks, the china cabinet is something I can get done NOW.  It's time to put the light, cool colors away and bring in the warm colors of fall.

Here's one last look at summer...




A few close-ups to remember summer 2011 -- Delamere & Blue Room Collection Spode, "Heritage" Depression glass plates (I love how they reflect the light), and our Precious and her daddy's hands in a Waterford frame.




Our sons' Bunnykins (Royal Doulton) and silver cups, now used by our grandbabies.


Since this is a before-and-after post...the baby cups are a bit tarnished....  The baby jewelry
was mine, now our Precious wears it.

~Our baby granddaughter and our son's hands~

Now to find a place for all of this...

Ta-dah!  I'ts fall at our house!

Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village" and Table Art sugar spoon.
The goblets are from Pottery Barn, many, many years ago.

Pumpkin soup tureen and pumpkin salt cellars were gifts from my mom.

The sterling salt spoons are "Eloquence" by Lunt (also a gift from my mom).
And the precious little one?  Our Baby G



Dried hydrangeas and bittersweet,
and our baby boy.

This beautiful pitcher is a gift from our youngest son.

I've had these pumpkins for years, and I use them for decorating
year after year.


So what do you think?  Does it say "Fall" now? 
I included lots of pictures for those other souls who, like me, love to
see every nook and cranny.

Happy fall to all!
Thanks for stopping by, and please leave me a comment--I love hearing from you!
And I hope you'll follow me!

I'm joining these fun parties this week:

 Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Courtney’s, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/



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!