Turquoise and White Summer Dinner Party

First, I found these beauties!

Then I found these to go with them.

I already had these.....

And these.....

And these!

And a dinner party was born.

Place mats are from Homegoods, dinner plates and salad plates from Z Galleries, and soup tureen from Target.

Here's the way the table came together.  We were expecting six, but ended up with a cozy four. 

I wanted to keep the turquoise and white and coral thing going, so the center of the table was a very simple gathering of a large piece of white coral surrounded by white shells.  Then I threw in a few pieces of turquoise sea glass to give a tiny bit of color.

Couldn't be easier.

I put these large extra-white roses in some clear turquoise glasses from Martha Stewart.  There was an arrangement at each end of the table.

Here's the bread and butter plate I used.  It says "Made in Italy" and the mark reads "Andrea Galvani, Pordemone" and has "Carbone" in script.  I have about 6 complete place settings, lots of serving pieces, and an espresso set.  I bought it years ago at a consignment shop in Shaker Heights, Ohio that benefited the American Red Cross. These butter shapes are made in a Wilton candy mold from Micheal's.

I put a Greek Gazpacho in these.  It was a new recipe that I had never tried and it was yummy.  Perfect for our hot summer night.

We aren't martini drinkers and not many of our friends are, either, but I totally had to buy these at Tuesday Morning.  They are deeply etched in such a cool beach theme.  I immediately envisioned a crab salad in them, but because I was serving seafood for the main course, I used them for dessert.  I just grilled a slice of pineapple, and put a scoop of Hagen-Daz pineapple-coconut ice cream on top and sprinkled a bit of toasted coconut over all.  I diced the pineapple to fit the shape of this glass, but I usually just put the ring on a plate and top with the ice cream.  Listen..........this is great........this is easy..........people love it!!!!  Why bake a cake? 

 

The flatware is my off-white French knock-off.  It looks great and was a fraction of the cost of the set that I thought I had to have.

Salt and pepper in a shell with horn spoons.

I took most of these photos the night before the dinner.  The lighting was not great and these turquoise pieces seem to be sort of fighting, but truly, it was a beautifully harmonious table.

This rattan runner and sea-themed stuff has been on the dining table for a couple of weeks.  I moved it to the sideboard for the meal.

Just a Pottery Barn bowl with sand and shells and a little sea glass.

These Pottery Barn hurricanes have the same treatment.

The small chest in the dining room has a clear turquoise bottle filled with a few simple snips from the yard.  It has a very narrow neck, so only a very few pieces of greenery will work.

I set up some glasses in the bar with these Caspari cocktail napkins.

And here's the coffee service with a shell-handled spoon for the sugar.

We had this appetizer out in the garden after we all got drinks.  Do you remember fixing this all of the time in the late '70's?  It's a veggie pizza on crescent rolls with a ranch dressing mixed with mayo and cream cheese.  Then any veggies (I used broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, green onions, and grated carrots.  Then top with shredded cheddar.  It is so refreshing and tasty, especially for summer.  I garnished it with basil leaves and garlic chive blossoms.

Here's a close-up.  Does it make your mouth water?  I took the left-overs to a picnic the next night and they were licked clean.

I was wishing that my blogger friend, Alycia Nichols from Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One could join me that night.  I really must find a way to meet her for a "for-real" hug.  Do you think that it was Alycia-worthy?

Menu:

Veggie Pizza

(served in the garden)

Greek Summer Gazpacho

(Southern My Way by Gena Knox)

Beach Street Cajun Shrimp

(Susan Branch's The Summer Book)

served over

Orzo Salad With Corn

(Stonewall Kitchen's Harvest)

Pineapple/Coconut Sundaes

*Sorry...no pics of most of the meal.  I just can't talk and serve and photograph at the same time, it seems!

I'll be posting at:

Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

French Country Home for Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/

Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Stuff and Nonsense for Fridays Unfond

http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/