Orang Tulip Table

I have discovered that when you are asking someone to serve on a committee, that the best thing to do is to ask over a meal.  Today, I am not just asking to fill a committee position, but to fill a board position.  In my book that means not a restaurant meal, but a meal in our home.  Wouldn't you feel you had to say yes?

So today's inspiration was these square floral plates.  I found them at Homegoods and I thought that they just said "spring".  I think I am going to wish I had bought more than four.  I tried several different tablecloths, but this crisp white hotel linen looked so fresh that I went with it.  Then I narrowed the entire palate to orange and apple green. 

What flowers could I use but orange tulips with this plate?

Then I put them in this little square pot from the floral wholesaler.  The birds seemed perfect for a spring table, too.

As you can see by these photos, the vibrant colors went well with our area striped area rug and apple green checked draperies.

I have about a dozen of these square bread and butter plates.  I think they were from Homegoods, too, last summer.  I sometimes use round and square plates together, but I think I really prefer to keep similar shapes together.

Bright green napkins are held with a simple white wicker napkin ring.  I chose my mismatched silverplate......

and mother of pearl handled knives.

These green water glasses are from Swoosie's and the wine glasses are from Tiffany's.  (I thought wine might make her more likely to agree to the position.)

I served individual quiches from this serving dish since it had the same colors and echoed the butterflies on the plates.

Orange/pineapple sorbet was perfect in this flower dish from Michael's on these orange square plates.

And she said yes!!!!!!!

I'm linking with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her Tablescape Thursday blog party.  Be sure to check it out each week for great inspiration.

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

Also find me linked to three more fun blog parties:

Sunday Favorites at Happy to Design

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie 

Happy Earth Day 2011!

To mark Earth Day 2011, I thought I'd post what Mother Nature has sent us so far this spring.  Actually, these pictures were taken about a week ago and things have really changed in that length of time.  Here's the front gates of our home.  Our real forsythia is long done here in Atlanta, but the forsythia on the wreaths remain....at least till next week.

We plant pansies in the fall and they bloom all winter long.  Here are a few remaining with the daffodils by the entrance.

 
 

These will soon be ripped out and replaced with impatiens for the summer.

I just planted this viburnum last year and it is at least making an effort to bloom, bless it's heart!

Here's the view from the back of the house looking down to the lake.  This dogwood specimen is beautiful, but the woods are full of wild dogwood, too. 

Most of the azaleas are these George Tabor variety.  They are my favorite.  The blooms are bigger than the average azalea and they cut for arranging very well. 

These are just sitting in the back turn around waiting to go to the garden. This is Mr. Pressed Pants favorite plant, so I pick them up as soon as I see yellow hibiscus in the garden center each spring. I wish they would winter for me.  I've tried and tried, but I have to replace them each year.  I don't mind since he loves them so much. 

I must say they really have a showy blossom.

Here's another view looking over the railing of the circular white deck down toward the lake.

The woods are full of native azaleas and wild dogwood.

This dogwood is so much fuller and whiter this week.

I've spent several years filling this terrace bed with perennials.  It is so rewarding to see these return.  Not everything has come back, but I'm making progress.  My goal is to not have to put any annual color into these beds, but as you can see, I'm a ways away from that.

The back pond has since been cleaned and the stones reset.  I love the lamb's ear in the bed here.

The lenten roses were awesome this year.  We have lots of these.  I wish I could figure out a good way to cut them and use them for floral arrangements.  Their little heads just droop too much.

This front fountain is just beginning to fill in.  The daffodils are done, but the hosta which surrounds it, are just poking up.  Time to get out there with the deer repellent.  Now!!!

The boxwood topiaries that I had in these cement pots didn't make it through the winter.  I replaced them with standards of gardenias. 

The flowers do show up and.....

they smell divine!

I'm working toward removing all of the nandina and small plantings in the front and making it just fern beds.  These guys want to join the party again this year!

Thanks for visiting and saluting Earth Day with me.  I hope your little corner of the earth is blessing you with similar treasures.  If not, be patient, they're coming!

Retro Easter Table

This is one of my favorite tablescapes, mostly because I've been doing it each Easter for years.  If you're not a fan of the pastel look, it might sort of give you a toothache, but just for this holiday, I really love it!

Yep!  Lots of pastel!!!!

It always starts with this vintage tablecloth with these devilish looking bunnies.

Doesn't he crack you up?

There are eight matching napkins. 

This is the way I like to use them.

These white wooden rabbit napkin holders came from Pier One, years ago.

And the other vintage feature is the LuRay china, which I have collected for years.  It comes in four pastel colors, pink, blue, green, and yellow.  It is from the '40's.

I sometimes use just one color at a time for a very different look, but the mixture is the way it was sold.  As I am posting this, I see that there is some stray moss on the plate.  Here's one for the bloopers. 

Then, I used this pink flatware to really make it over the top springy!

I'm not much for hand painted glasses with leopard or "girl's night out", or some of the crazy things you can find, but I LOVE these with Easter baskets painted on them.  Needless to say, they only get used once a year!

For a little bit of class, I added Waterford wine stems.  I always debate between red or white wine glasses, as there is a difference of opinion of what goes with ham.

Even the LuRay salt and pepper set comes in two colors.

I always think this is the perfect table to use this little matching dish and spoon with foxgloves on it.  It is Carlton Ware.  I think I'm going to start keeping my eye out for more of this.  It sure is sweet.

 The centerpiece is more of a vignette than an arrangement.  I found this vintage toy fence several years ago and I decided to make a vegetable garden with it. 

Bunny McGregor tends the garden.

 I "planted" the garden with brussel sprouts for cabbages, little summer squash tops, and baby carrots with rosemary for the tops.  Then I surrounded the dish with green moss to resemble grass.

Here's last year's table.  I used pink linen napkins and added a bit more silverware.  I'll do the small bouquet of flowers in a blown out egg placed in the wooden egg cups again, but not until Sunday.  I'll also use this flower mold for butter.

Have you been noticing these fun little bunny nutcrackers?

Maybe a bit much?

Well, I couldn't resist when they came in exactly the same colors as the LuRay china.  You know, my mantra is "It's not done until it's overdone"!

Here's the coffee and tea tray.  I saw a pink LuRay pitcher at my bridge buddy's house this week and I wanted to run out with it, but I guess I can't have it all! 

What do you think?  Too much?  Well, remember that everyone is already on a sugar high from the Easter baskets, so why not send them into a total sweetness coma!

I'm linking up with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her Thursday Tablescape party.

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/