Hello Hydrangeas!

I looked at my hydrangeas in the cutting garden and I knew I had to cut a big bunch to take inside.  While cutting, I decided that they were too good to keep to myself, so I offered a bite of breakfast the next morning before a couple of us took off on a short road trip.  Two girls came, and one opted to sleep in a bit.

This deck seemed like the right choice, as it is not very far to carry things back to the kitchen, and I knew we would be leaving in a hurry.

These plates are called Hailey's Sky by Nature's Home.  They lend themselves to casual, or a little bit formal.  They are not fragile or precious, but they sure are fun.

Here's the star of the show.  I love all colors of hydrangeas, but this color might just be my favorite.  I don't know what variety they are, as I transplanted them when we moved here.

These juice glasses are so old that I can't remember where they came from.

This sliver plate is quite special to me.  It was my mother's and when she went to a personal care facility and we shared her beautiful things, I chose this because it was a part of so many of our special times around her lovely table.

And these napkins were a gift from her as well.  They are so beautiful that they are actually a pleasure to iron!!!!!  I can't say that about to many things!

This was a piece we brought home from France.  It takes up less room on the table than a water pitcher.

This milk bottle came from World Market.

 

 

These bread plates came from France, too.  And the fruit knives are Delft from Holland.

Here's the back side of the bread plates.

A bit of cherry jelly for our croissants.

The baby geese were out on the lake, but I didn't catch a photo of them.

Some summers these bloom all season long, and sometimes they bloom profusely in early summer and then they are done.  That's why I grab my scissors and make sure I can enjoy them as much as possible.  My landscapers cut my hydrangeas back on the lower terrace, so they have only given us a very few blooms, but the cutting garden plants aren't so stingy!

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Sundays at Home

Hydrangeas Just Make Me Happy!

Mother Nature decided that my hydrangeas would not be providing very many blooms this year, but fortunately, they are easy to find in grocery stores and farmer's markets.  There's nothing like cutting your own, but with a little planning, I'll still be having hydrangeas.

This table celebrates the hydrangea and is full of color.

These plates are made by Nature's Home, and the pattern is called Hailey Sky.

The glassware is an large, old blue stem for water and an inexpensive swirled glass for wine.

I sort of promised myself that I would not buy another straw placemat, since I have so many, but this color was so perfect for this plate, right?  The flatware is very old and I've no idea where it came from.

These little Emile Henry pots make fun salt and pepper servers. 

This French urn was an easy decision to hold the flowers.  The French blue color is lovely, isn't it?

I would have loved darker blue hydrangeas, but these are the darkest that Trader Joe had today.  I added lime green hosta leaves to pull out the green in the plates.

Then, for a little extra comfort for lingering conversations, I brought out some French grain sack pillows.

Can you tell that this table sits in the round part of the deck?  It is off of the living room and overlooks the lake.  It's our favorite place to dine outdoors. 

See where the round part meets the straight railings?

We sometimes put extra tables out here if we have more than a dozen people dining outside.  

Pretty as they are, I just know that those hydrangeas will be put on the railing during dinner so we can see each other.  I'm never insulted by rearranging the centerpiece because, after all, we're there to enjoy each other, not the flowers.  Well.....mostly!!!

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Red, Cream, and Blue

 

I just love a red/white/blue table this time of year.  Not only do we celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the Fourth of July right in a row, but the blue hydrangeas are just begging to be featured on a dinner table.

This table is colorful but super simple.....no placecards, napkin rings, or even salad forks.  It's just right for a simple, rustic supper with friends.  I'm suggesting it for Flag Day, June 14th.  

Here's the placesetting.  The tablecloth and napkins are from a lovely little shop in Woodstock that has unfortunately closed.  The background is not white, but a really pretty cream.  I had heavy Belgian linen pillows with these same stripes, but I left them outside on the garden chairs and not only did they get moldy, they faded terribly in just a few days.  That was a huge disappointment.  They went in the trash.

The charger is bleached wood and came from World Market this spring.  The red plate is from Ballard's, the cream one is from Target, and the blue bowl has no marking and is so old that I have no idea where I got it.

This flatware is the same story...real old...can't remember.  Probably K-Mart or something.

And these glasses are also too old to remember.  

The centerpiece is one of three that I had left from a reception at church.

Just hydrangeas and hosta leaves in this cream footed pot.  I had about 14 of these from our older daughter's wedding.  I'm sure glad that I bought them and gave them to the florist, as I have used them over and over and over.

Frenchie, the canvas and metal cow holds salt and pepper and it makes me so happy to use her.  You can read about our love story here.

Are you feeling patriotic?  I should add sparklers!

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The Tablescaper

Let's Dish

Cuisine Kathleen

Wine Club Evening

It's our month to host our wine club!!!  

Everyone brings an appetizer to share, which all went on the dining room table.  In the center of the table was an idea I've had for a long time.  I've stacked wooden wine crates, and placed them on a burlap runner.  I wanted to keep this earthy and rustic.

I included a couple of wine related books, corks, grapes, birch covered votives, and burlap wired ribbons.

Here it is from the other side.  I took these photos before I pulled the chairs away.

The floral wholesaler was pretty short on sunflowers and earthy colors.  Every other person there was shopping for soft, pastel colors for their Mothers' Day clients, and that's what they were stocked up on for the weekend.

To hold the flowers, I used an old wooden pedestal bowl with this interesting monogrammed badge.

 

I love this burlap ribbon I found.  It was a good way to introduce another texture and I scattered some of the blossoms here and there. 

I set the coffee and dessert up on the drop leaf table in the bar.  Centered there is an arrangement of oak leaf hydrangeas and regular mop head blue hydrangeas with a little pampas grass.

I used this two layer server for the mini desserts that I made and served in 4-oz.square plastic cups from Party City.  That little silver trophy cup holds demi-tasse spoons that are the perfect size for these little cups.

  I made four flavors of desserts: banana pudding, tiramasu, chocolate/peanutbutter, and key lime pie.  All of the recipes came from the internet, but when I make these again, I'll just use my regular recipes for these desserts.  The whole key to making these is to use disposable piping bags for each part that goes into each little cup. 

My other contribution to the evening was this marinated shrimp dish.

I worry about fish sitting out all evening, so I used a large, shallow bowl and filled it with crushed ice.

Then I lined the edge of it with hydrangea leaves......

and placed the shrimp dish on top.  Keeping it cold makes the food taste better, too.

These little booklets that I made for everyone held a sheet for each of the six wines with reviews, price, descriptions, and information on the vintners.  

Pottery Barn is selling these sets of 26 wine charms that look like typewriter keys.  I usually think that wine charms are sort of cheesey and I hate the way they clink on the stem.  I buckled and bought these for the convenience of the group and I think they're pretty cute.

As usual, few people took the time to fill these out.  Really.....I don't blame them......all you need to know is if you like it. 

These manila tags were tied around the neck of each bottle.

Each wine was well received, which pleased me.

What a nice night.  We sat outside on all three levels and laughed among the bull frogs until the rain drops chased us inside.  

I'm joining:

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