A Tribute to the Dogwood Festival

Many, many people in Atlanta look forward to the Dogwood Festival each year.  It was held this past weekend, and it was full of music, art, food and celebrated the lovely dogwood trees we are so privileged to have here in this beautiful city.  I put together this table as a tribute to the many volunteers that it takes to hold this event.

We have lots of dogwood here, both as specimens and many wild ones in the woods.  They made beautiful fillers for these old blue Ball jars.  I kept the white linen cloth and the burlap runners that I had on the table for "Bunnies and Burlap" (here).

I posted a very similar table to this before, when the dogwood was blooming.  It was probably my favorite table ever.  You can see it here.

I love the colors of taupe, turquoise and white together.  Can you see the faux bois design on the salad plate?

The light wood on the flatware seemed just right with the burlap, and I used these white linen napkins with turquoise linen flower napkin rings.

I put bread sticks in these glass lined, birch covered votives.

The glassware was plain Tiffany stems with turquoise glass tumblers made by Martha Stewart.

I love this easy, easy centerpiece.

These birch-like candles never even got lit, as it is staying light so much later these days.

I knew we are headed for a full week of rain, so I grabbed my clippers and cut a huge bunch of limbs for this granite bucket by the front door.  Is it too much to mix the dogwood and the forsythia?  Oh, who cares?  I'm so into spring!

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Moonlight and Mason Jars (Wed.)

Alabaster and Acorns

We have some friends who are undergoing a massive remodel of their home, and they are in need of a homecooked meal.  We'll have them over tomorrow for a casual dinner.  I haven't decided on the menu yet, but I did decide on the important part....the table setting!

There will be just four of us, but I did decide to eat in the dining room, rather than the breakfast room.  I don't know if it's because all of my mums have frozen by now, and they are all sort of beige, but I seem to be turning to light neutrals for the last few tables.  Just this week, I set a similar toned table for some other friends.  See it here.

I really wanted to use these new oval alabaster plates.  Aren't they sweet?

I haven't used this fall cotton damask tablecloth yet this year, and it was a good complement to the plates.

And these napkins were a good match for the cloth.  I bought a tablecloth and 12 napkins at a resale shop last spring, and none of them had ever been used.  I love old linens, so they were in my hands the moment I saw them.

And, oh baby!!!!!  Look at these napkin rings. I know you want to swoon.  My very dear friend, Barb, gave me eight of these.  Barb is the person who, years ago, talked me into starting a blog.  She knows me so well, and I know any gift from her is  the perfect choice, and these gorgeous rings are maybe the best ever!!!

This white French flatware looks good on these twig place mats, and I like to use these wooden bowls in place of bread and butter plates.

I use this combination of glassware often.

This picture is a little fuzzy, but I wanted you to see this sweet squirrel placecard holder.

You've probably seen this brown water bottle that we brought home from France before.  I haven't decided on the wine yet, but there will be a wicker wine coaster, too.

Here's another accessory I use a lot. 

Since the place mats are twig, I added a couple of small twig votives.

Sugar anyone?

Butter?

These old wooden candlesticks sport twig candles.  I wish the candles were beefier, though.

I thought this faux bois candle holder would be a good choice for the centerpiece. 

I used a piece of oasis on the top and added these brown and cream flowers.  Do you see the little white pumpkin and white wheat?  Then I scattered a few acorns around.

Bird's eye view.

Man, those napkin rings sure are the star of the show, aren't they?  Those alabaster plates were fun to work with, too.  I only found four of them, so this was the perfect chance to use them.

No matter what menu I decide on, I know our guests will appreciate putting their feet under a table tomorrow night.  I've remodeled kitchens several times, so I can commiserate with them.  Any suggestions as to what to fix? 

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Faux Wood in the Real Woods

This morning, as I looked out our front window at this glorious day, I was so moved by the way the sunlight was filtering through the trees in front of our house.

Our landscaper calls this area "the park", but I feel that is a very fancy way of saying "our front woods".

I wanted to celebrate this warm, sunny day with a table set in the midst of this glory. 

So, I brought this little, old work table out and found just the right spot in the midst of the oaks. 

The top is one board, and it has seen a lot of action.  I'm sort of obsessed with the wish that these wonderful old things could tell stories of some of the things they have seen. 

I added a burlap tablecloth and this was the base of the centerpiece.  I think they are sold at the floral wholesaler as casket forms.  The base is styrofoam and the top is oasis, with a wire cage around it.

Here it is when I finished fiddling around with it.

I wanted to use this wonderful old wooden bird, but he needed some elevation.  What kind of bird do you think he is? 

 

Along with preserved sheet moss, reindeer moss, and acorns, I added these mushrooms made of pinecones that I found at Michael's.  Then I cut some ferns and some baby pine trees, and stuck them into the form.

I love the way it looks in the dappled sun.

The bottom plate was big enough to use as a charger.

Then, I used two sizes of these wonderful faux bois plates from Boxwoods.  Are you tired of hearing me rave about that store?  Seriously!!!  I never, ever fail to leave that store with inspiration, and usually a big shopping bag full of their incredible selection of merchandise!  It's the best store in Atlanta!

Then, I used my favorite flatware.  It's not our "everyday" stuff, but is some I use very, very often.

I placed the green linen napkin between the plates for contrast, and added a sprig of pine and a twig, just for interest.

What better choice for water stems than these glasses with fall leaves and acorns etched on them?

We weren't having coffee, but just for a photo, I put the cream and sugar pieces on this faux bois tray from Pier 1.

These bow backed chairs from our breakfast room and french linen pillows from the keeping room were easy to bring outside.

All done!!!   

No flowers, no pumpkins, and no bright colors, yet this couldn't be anything but fall.

It's so natural in color selections that you can hardly see it.

Then, back into the house I went to get Mr. Pressed Pants, who was working from home today. 

Our lunch menu wasn't particularly fabulous, but the setting and the company were spectacular!

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