Orange and White Bridge Luncheon

My sweet bridge group made the trip to the country to join me for lunch today.  I love to have them, as they are so worth spoiling and they seem to appreciate being here.

The front door was a hint of the "theme" of the day.

It is already too hot in Atlanta to use real flowers on this door, as it gets hit with a bit of sun, so I used these cheerful silks.  When have you ever seen a bright orange hydrangea?

We headed to the bar area and had some drinks and nibbles.  This pitcher is filled with Mango green tea spritzers.

I also made a jug of water with orange and lemon slices and mint.  Do you see an orange seed at the bottom?  This is so refreshing.  I don't know why I don't make it just for myself.

Paula Deen would be so proud.  She says that whenever women gather there should be tomato sandwiches!

I just had to use orange tomatoes with this meal. Too much?

These little phyllo cups are filled with a piece of brie cheese and topped with a bit of peach preserves and some almonds.  Bake them for four minutes and they're ready.

We took our drinks outside for a tour of the garden.

These orange and white stripped cushions from Homegoods worked nicely today!

 I'm slowly getting into the succulent craze.

I've had several emails asking me to do a post on the garden and potting shed.  I promise that I will.  I have realized that I might just as well go out and start shooting, because if I wait for the garden to look perfect, I'll grow very old.

I set the table in the dining room, as it is far more comfortable than being outside.  This is our tenth day in a row of over ninety degree heat.  I used a white hotel tablecloth and napkins and added runners that I made of a picnic table sized tablecloth.  It added exactly the graphic punch that I was looking for.

This cloth is just a tad too large for this table, so I gathered the corners with silk ranuculus and a gros grained ribbon.

The dishes were simple.  The white dinner plates are just our everyday, no brand plates and the orange and white banded salad plates came from several Homegoods stores last summer.  I got them for a wedding shower, which I will do a post about in the near future.

I can't remember where I got these square plates which I use for bread and butter plates.  I served a seeded cracker made by an artisan bakery not far from here and made the butter pats in the shape of a sunflower.  These butter knives are part of my mis-matched collection of silverplate.  I promise that they were not as tarnished as they appear in this photo!

 Here are some more pieces with my mother of pearl handled knives.  I only use them when there is nothing substantial to cut, as I don't know how sturdy they are these days.

Thanks to the Graphic Fairy for this "menu" heading.  It made a cute menu card.  I like to put a quote on the card if there is room.  Today's quote is "Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are as free as their toes".  It reminds me of my sweet girls when they were youngsters.

Here's another example of the high/low mix that I encourage.  This acrylic tumbler that I chose for water mixed just fine with the linen and silver.  Don't be afraid to go there!!!!

Putting these runners on the table meant that some placesettings were on an orange background and some on the white, but these placesettings could hold their own on either.  I found out that is not always the case.

This large square glass vase made enough of a statement for this bold table.  I'm sure you all know the old trick of putting a smaller vase inside so that the decorative fruit is only on the edges.  I should have taken a photo of it.  Then I used a clear glass plate to hold oasis and just set it on top. 

I folded the white napkin pocket style so that it would hold the menu card and placed a kumquat and a small leaf on top.  There are tutorials all over the internet on how to do this.  Here's the orange placesetting.....

and here's the one on white.

Several months ago, Michael's had these cute little plates in their dollar bin and I just knew that I "needed" them for something.  See....I did!  I needed them for salt and pepper dishes.  I paired them with these horn spoons.

This little French style butter dish with the bird on top offered more butter.  Maybe I got carried away with the butter offerings!!!

Just for giggles, and because I thought they were cute, I put a can (yes, a CAN) on the table. 

With a plastic straw.  Yes!  I said plastic.

And it became a drink and a placecard.  I just used scrapbook paper and double faced tape.

The first course was a two melon soup.  It was so refreshing.  The trick of the two tones is to have a small cup of each color in your two hands and pour them in at the SAME time.  Then I garnished with a small melon ball in the opposite color.  This is a very, very, very easy soup.  Did I say it was easy?  Three ingredients....melon, confectioner's sugar, and lime juice.  In the processor.  To taste.  Chill.  See....easy!

But it looks pretty, doesn't it?  Then I served a  salad with lots of goodies and chicken in it.  You'll have to imagine what it looked like, since I forgot to photograph it.  Here's a hint:  it had mandarin oranges in it to "go orange"!  Along with cranberries, a granny smith apple, bleu cheese, avocado, romaine, green onions, and sugared almond slices.

Here's the coffee tray.  I forgot to get a picture of the dessert, too.  Once I start eating, I'm no longer in the mood to photograph, I guess!  Anyhow, dessert was orange mango sorbet served in an antique cut glass liqueur glass with a silver demi-tasse spoon and a mini carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  Just small bites, but yummy.

I put this little Japanese arrangement in one of the guest powder rooms.

And then, with full tummies, we sat down to several games of bridge.  This was pretty typical of my hands!

It was such a special day with special friends.  I feel so blessed to know these women.  I look forward to each and every Tuesday, so we can share our time and what's going on in our lives.  The bridge is good, too!  We seem to be a very compatible group and nobody takes it too seriously.  Thanks for coming, ladies, and as I promised, I kept your photos out of the blog!

I'll be posting this table at Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.  Be sure to see what's going on over there.

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

also:

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home At The Charm of Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Visit these charming blog parties!!!

Peonies with Pow!!!!

I just love, love, love peonies.  A few days ago, a storm was predicted, so I scurried outside and snipped a big bunch of them before the rain ruined them.  I didn't know at the time, but that storm resulted in the worst loss of life due to a natural disaster in the USA next to hurricane Katrina.  I was so worried about my flowers, but so many families lost every thing they had as well as those they hold so dear.  I so sincerely pray for their healing.  

I can't remember the name of the varieties, but I must say that my peonies are looking really great!

This one looks like I photoshopped it!  It doesn't even look real.  It actually looks just like the one on the plates I chose for this tablescape.

I love this version, too, but it seems to "shatter" really easily.

Bet ya thought I'd set a serene pink and white table with them!!!  Well, I'm walking on the wild side today with this 'scape!

It was such a beautiful afternoon. I could not have guessed what would come later that night. 

I set this up on our lower terrace, but I shot this from the upper one through the climbing hydrangea foliage.

Here's the wide shot of the lower terrace.  The beds are starting to fill in, but I haven't planted the annual color yet.

So I pulled out the vibrant colors from the storage closet and linen press.  They really pop against the white of the outdoor furniture and the stone terrace.

I started with a very bright turquoise tablecloth.  It is actually a rectangular size, but I just pouffed and draped and it works just fine.  I just wish the wrinkles were a little less obvious, but hey, think shabby chic, ok?

These plates are some of my very favorite.  They are melamine from Target several years ago.  Here's where these bold colors came from!

This flatware is made by Cambridge.  It is super cheap, but a quite acceptable quality for a novelty look. 

My sweet mom gave me these napkin rings years ago.  She has a huge Fiesta pottery collection and this has always reminded me of Fiesta ware.  I really don't think it is, though.  The bright green napkins are from Homegoods.

I slipped a silk peony in each napkin ring, too, just for a little lushness.

These bright pink plastic glasses are also from Homegoods, and the wine tumblers are actually vases that I bought in bulk from the wholesaler years ago.  They are the only fragile thing on the table.  Most of the rest is plastic!

I went to apple green again for the urn shaped vase for the peonies.  I had two of these, but I broke one.  It was nice to use them both on a table, but for a small table like this, one is sufficient.

Isn't it a shame that the blooming season is so short?

The flowers on the plates will last, but I can never bring myself to use them unless I have peonies to go with them.

Oh.....yummy!

Can't you almost smell them? 

 Well, here's the sad part.....we never got to eat at this table that night, as the weatherman strongly suggested that we prepare for bad weather, so I gathered these things and took them to the breakfast room table.  Nice, but not the same.

I don't want to sound like I'm whining.  A lost opportunity is nothing like the loss that so many Southerners experienced this week.  There are so many people and organizations leading drives for supplies to help the affected area.  If you are so moved, please find a way to help.

Of course, my very favorite use of peonies was at my beautiful daughter's wedding.  The only flowers used in the bouquets, or the tables were peonies.  What a precious memory!

On Thursday, I'll be linking up with Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. Check out the many creative postings at:

betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

You can also find this post on Wow Us Wednesday at Savy Southern Style:

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

This is a really fun blog party.  Be sure to give it a visit!

Also, I'm posting at All Thing's Inspired, a blog party at Robin's "All Things Heart and Home" beautiful blog:

http://www.allthingsheartandhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ati21.jpg

You can see this also at:

Feathered Nest Friday

Show and Tell Friday

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