Chickadee Home Nest: beach table

Showing posts with label beach table. Show all posts

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Last Hurrah…A Beach Table

I’m not too late with a beach tablescape, am I? I’m seeing a big shift to fall—blogs, magazines, catalogs—but at the end of August, as our family got together to celebrate July birthdays we hadn’t been able to celebrate, and yours truly’s in August, I just had to have a beach table. I hope those of you who love the beach and its colors will enjoy one more glance at summer…

It wasn’t a fancy table…it was a REAL table, for family brunch. See the empty spaces on either side? Those are reserved for two of the grandchickadees (#3 is still in his highchair in the corner), but since their dishes were going to be white, well…those place settings just had to wait till I was done taking pictures. The serving pieces were chosen for their colors, but also for their “wavy” edges.

Psssst…the teal plates and “glasses” are (gasp!) plastic! They’re Zac Design, and yes, they refer to them as being plastic on their website (http://www.zak.com/) I got 5 of each at an auction—I so wish I could find at least 3 or 4 more of each, but the Zac website doesn’t show this color any longer.! (If you happen to know of some, please let me know!) I was able to use them for this gathering because one of our DILs was out of town. And the gorgeous goblets we used for blueberry shortcake?? A fabulous find (.50 each) at GW!! They look like they’re a very nice quality (glass); I bet they were pretty pricey when they were bought. I often wonder about the person who gives something like that to GW, and why they wouldn’t want them. Do you wonder, or are you just happy that they do?

The centerpiece was sweet because of the Gerbera Daisy our DIL sent over with the babies with an even sweeter note:

You can bet that precious note is staying with the plant!! I’m babying it and hoping and praying I can keep it alive. I haven’t had much luck with Gerberas. Do you have the secret to keeping them happy in a flower pot?

The baby Chickadees love, love, love blueberries, so when I found a huge container of them at Kroger I couldn’t resist.

Add them to yummy Bisquick shortcakes (our absolute favorite recipe, though I add about 2 tablespoons of sugar to the mix), some half and half, a scoop of ice cream and a beautiful dollop of whipped cream and welll….it WAS a birthday celebration, after all! And we didn’t have cake afterwards (that doesn’t sound defensive or anything, does it? :) ) Oh…and I forgot…the adults all agreed we wanted the blueberry shortcake FIRST! We’ve never done dessert first! The baby Chickadees were pretty excited about that!

Shells, of course, for the salt from the sea (and the pepper). I started out looking for some beach-themed s&p shakers, and realized I had none (now that’s hard to believe!) then I remembered my clam shells, and was glad to use those, for something more authentic.

No beach table is complete without a palm tree, right? (I know there are beaches where palm trees don’t grow, but beaches and palm trees go together in my book!) So my Nora Fleming dish (a sweet and relevant gift from one of our sons and DIL) and my Mud Pie fish plates completed the table. The fish plates were a must-have when I found them during a Hilton Head vacation several years ago—a set of 4, along with the shell spreader. During the summer months I keep one on the stove as my spoon rest.

Maybe now I can make peace with fall.

Are you ready for fall? If you are, please bear with me. I actually love fall once the colors start to change and its beauty is once again revealed to us, but getting there is not easy for me.

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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Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Wednesdays at Ivy and Elephants: http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Throwback Thursdays at http://www.glitterglueandpaint.com/throwback-thursday-2/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Fresh-Cut Fridays at http://rosevignettes.blogspot.com

Fridays at The Thrifty Groove at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Sunday, July 8, 2012

July Birthdays Birthday Party

My husband and I have five children (he, 2 boys and a girl, and I, 2 boys). Three of the 4 boys have birthdays in July (one of his sons and my July son were born a week apart—same year—and my July son and his other son have birthdays 2 days apart—(did you follow all that?). PLUS, two of our DILs have birthdays in July, and my husband’s birthday is in July! Whew!! It would be impossible to celebrate each one individually, so this is the party for the 4 who will be able to join the July Birthday Party!

First let me warn you, though. The heat wave that’s hitting much of the country has not missed us in Ohio…so this was the fastest table and picture-taking session on record. My husband wondered why I wouldn’t be doing it inside—well, we can’t have a BEACH birthday party inside! To the screen porch I went! I actually set most of the table the night before, and got up early the next morning to “beat the heat”… but the heat beat me! I finished the table and took pictures so fast that if I didn’t use Picasa you’d think you were suffering from vertigo—quite a few were NOT straight. It was truly a point-and-shoot day! And you’ll notice not evening shots…Let’s just say the heat won.

But here we are—the table got done, the pictures were taken.

Happy birthday to all my July sweeties!

Let’s start with dessert first, shall we?

With this heat we can’t have real ice cream, so how ‘bout ice cream cone candles?!

I know, I know…we’re in Ohio. But that won’t keep us from pretending we’re at the beach! We’re BEACH people! We have SAND from our favorite beach in Siesta Key, Florida, shells galore from there too, and . . . FLIP FLOPS!

I’ve had the flip flop plates for years and had planned to use them for this table, then I saw Mary’s Home is Where the Boat Is post with flip flops she made from Nutter Butter cookies….HAD.TO.HAVE.THEM on MY table! No worries, I let her know I would be “stealing” her darling idea and giving full credit.

Are these not the cutest things ever?! Mary made hers with icing, but I take shortcuts—it was 10:30 at night when my husband and I hit Kroger. So I bought two tubes of gel icing, and I, too, had flip flop cookies! I sprinkled them with nonpareils and added the little stars.

Served on my vintage Tiara tiered server.

And how about a high-heel server?! My husband bought that for me at an arts festival several years ago.

Pottery Barn shell pewter hors d’oeuvres picks, also from a number of years ago,

and Pottery Barn crabs—can’t be at the beach without them! (They’re really place card holders.)

We also have our table-size sandbox—a darling gift from our son and DIL…perfect for Mom the beach lover! At the top corner you see the “trunk” of the palm tree, and the starfish could go there instead. It’s a Nora Fleming dish with interchangeable embellishments/add-ons.

Water!! Lots of water!!

And now I have to tell you about my dishes…the serving tray--$26.86 originally—is a Zak Designs, and so are the teal plates and the glasses. Got them all—and the pitcher—for $3.00 at a auction! I didn’t even know what was in the box lot, but I saw teal, and that was good enough for me! I couldn’t be more excited about them! I’ve never had Melamine dishes before, but to settle my heart’s desire for teal dishes for this table, they are perfect! Take a look at the “glasses”—they look like glass! Boy, do I wish I could find glass ones just.like.these!!

Thank you for stopping by our July birthday party. I hope your imagination got a good workout and that you enjoyed our beach in the screened porch! What do you do when you have multiple birthdays in one month? Are you able to celebrate them individually like I’d love to do? And do you do beach themes even though you’re nowhere near the beach—just to bring it a little closer?

I’d love to hear from you to know you stopped by…and please tell me what you thought. Love your visits/love your comments.

I invite you to follow me. If you do, please let me know and I’ll be sure to follow right back!

I wish you happy beach days,if only in your dreams. Here’s where I’ll be this week; I hope you’ll stop by and visit me and the great selection of posts you’ll find at these great parties!

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Cozy Home Scenes Tuesdays at http://cozyhomescenes.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/