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!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Little Boy Blue Spring Table

{Please follow me on my Linky Followers (at right), as Blogger Friends is going, going, gone!}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you ever get an idea for a tablescape that keeps floating around in your head, waiting {IMPATIENTLY} to be created?  The idea came to me around Grandbaby Boy’s birthday in late January—a table in his honor, if you will:  Little Boy Blue.  It can be a SPRING TABLE too—beckoning with the less-traditional, barely there icy blue and white.

…it came together by itself. 

First—the beautiful tablecloth, bought well before his birth, but in anticipation of being blessed with a precious baby boy, for his baptism.  (More on the tablecloth below.)

Next, the Heinrich dinner plates with blue and white flowers and gold lattice work.

For the center piece, my vintage blue Caprice candle holders and bowl, accompanied by

Blue Boy and Blue Girl.

 

 

The plates came home with me from an auction—they were in a box lot!  Can you imagine?!

But alas, if you look closely, there were only 3—(I hope the fourth of my imaginary guests is

{GRACIOUS} and doesn’t even mention that her place is missing the lovely plates the others have.)

Replacements, Inc. has none like them…they are now on the “search” list.

I’m so happy they came home with me!  I think they’re lovely.

The Baronial Plate individual salt shaker is the only silver on the table, but they “made the cut” because

their patina is soft enough to not interfere with the gold of the ‘scape.

Blue Boy and Blue Girl are also from an auction—they’ll be available in my Etsy soon, so before

they move to another home I wanted have them grace Little Boy Blue’s table.

The flowers are perfect for a SPRING TABLESCAPE.

The blue Cambridge Caprice candleholders and bowl are gifts—from my mother, and from our DIL’s mother respectively--lovely gifts, yes?

Oh, the light and shadows playing on the table!  That’s one of the many reasons

I LOVE glass/crystal.

And now…for the pièce de résistance….

if I LOVE crystal, I ADORE fine, intricately embroidered ANTIQUE linens.

This tablecloth is an antique—white linen, masterfully hand-embroidered in icy, barely blue floss.

Let’s get a closer look so you’ll understand…

…Richelieu cutwork,

perfectly executed raised satin stitch…

and

…insertions of Point de Venise needle lace.

and a scalloped filet lace edging.

So how do you do justice to such mastery when selecting your napkins?

More mastery:

More of the same stitches of the tablecloth, plus

eyelet stitching and buttonhole-stitched edging.

 

What do you love most? China? Crystal? Linens? Silver?  YES, YES, YES!! All the above, right? :)  That’s why we tablescape!

Thank you for visiting.  I’d love to hear about what you love.
Lenox now-vintage Eternal dinner plates as chargers—wedding china
Gold flatware, a gift from my grandmother 28 years ago
Godinger Sutton Place iced tea stems
Flutes, wedding gift
Linens – my collection
Small white footed dish, Limoges, at auction
Leaf spoon, Table Art, The Morgan House, Powell, OH
Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! They encourage me and inspire me. And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too! Thank you!
I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com
Sunday Showcase Party at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/
Mop It Up Mondays at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/ (thru Feb.)
Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com
Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
Before and After Monday (1st Monday of the mo.) at http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/
Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.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/
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Winter Blues Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/
What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/
White Wednesday at http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/
Voila! French Inspiration on Thursdays at http://frenchcupboard.blogspot.com/
Gina at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/ for the Valentine Party
Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/
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Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/
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Home Sweet Home Friday at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
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Weekend Wrap-up Party at http://tatertotsandjello.com/
From my Chickadee Nest to yours~
Zuni

Bejeweled Thanksgiving

This past summer I was on Cloud Nine when I found a set of 8 beautiful Limoges plates at Powell Antiques close to home.  And now...[drumroll please]....here they are!  Their debut to Blogland!



Eight plates, two of each of four patterns.
Through my research I can't find a pattern name...
I'll name them EXQUISITE--aren't they?


My first thought was the expected thought--"I can't wait till Easter/spring to use them!" Then other fall and Thanksgiving posts using non-fall china challenged me to use them NOW!

The inspiration finally came--from the most unexpected place and item:  Kroger Marketplace & bargain placemats in a BEAUTIFUL, RICH, SHIMMERY purple!

OK...I'm making this a smmmmaaaalll picture, because, REALLY?! $.79 placemats for LIMOGES?!!

But I love them!  I love that they're shimmery and a beautiful shade of purple, or...
let's call them AUBERGINE--that makes them FANCY!

I already have aubergine napkins that I blogged about and how they came into my life HERE.  Though they're not the exact shade, I now have the placemats to work with too!

Here's the table:

I decided to create a second runner with the placemats by layering them on top of the gold linen runner,
 and not use them at all four place settings.
The centerpiece is the last HURRAH for the roses I dried from our son's wedding HERE.  I got
a month's worth of enjoyment and lots of pictures/memories from those beautiful roses.

Instead of traditional placecard holders I used our Lenox Eternal cream soup bowls with a dried rose at each place.
Amazingly, the colors of the dried roses were perfect for the setting!

The layers:
Lenox Eternal charger
Limoges dinner plate
Heritage (by Federal) Depression glass salad plate
Lenox Eternal cream soup bowl and and stand/plate










Dried Wedding Roses and Crystal
(Berwick juice/cocktail cups)



Color is so amazing, isn't it? Same dishes, yet the setting looks so different
with different backgrounds.
The Heritage salad plate not only adds texture, but it also plays with the
colors of the Limoges plates.



And finally...the LIMOGES plates.  Ta-dah!






Coffee service at the china cabinet/buffet~

Lenox Eternal cups and coffeepot
1847 Rogers Brothers Columbia silver spoons--a {WONDERFUL} hostess gift from my SIL
Crystal server bowl...pattern not known.  (Can anyone help me on that?)
Vintage napkins from my linen collection.








Other pieces:
Water goblets ~ Pottery Barn
Wine goblets ~ Pristine, by Reizart/Gorham
Gold linen table runner with velvet trim ~ Pottery Barn
Gold linen tablecloth ~ Don't remember
Gold flatware ~ gift from my dear grandmother, years ago
Oval s/p tray ~ GW find
Brass candlestick ~ Baldwin Brass
Crystal candlesticks ~ Various/unknown

So...was I able to convert my spring Limoges to fall?

Would you like to be invited to this Thanksgiving table? (I'd love to have you visit!)

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them!  They encourage me and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

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

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

 Carrie’s Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

 Home Savvy A to Z Monday party at http://www.homesavvyatoz.com/savvy-homemade-monday-13/

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

 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

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/