Bridge Buddies and Azaleas

Thanks to these wonderful bloggers, there's a great Spring Linky Party happening.  I'm joining by reposting this luncheon I held for my Bridge Buddies.  Take a minute to visit this fun day with me, and then go to the rest of the blogs and remind yourself how wonderful spring can be!

Several weeks ago, when my azaleas were at their peak, I invited my bridge group here for lunch.

I can't remember what kind these are, but I love to mix them with these tiny, fringy native azaleas.  They are exactly the same color, but add a really lovely texture.

This organza and pique tablecloth is perfect for this spring table.  It is so sheer, that I layer it over a white caterer's linen cloth.

I just love the embroidery and the fabric combination.

I chose this white Portugese wicker patterened charger, with a lime green dinner plate from Target.  Then, just for this photo, I put the majolica pink cabbage leaf that I use for a bread and butter plate on top.  The flatware is from World Market, but I only have place settings for four, so I used a different pattern, but still in green at the ends of the table.

I layered the napkin over a plain hot pink linen one and used a lucite napkin ring that holds water to keep the azalea fresh. 

These dainty little placecard holders are perfect for the girls, and I added some white china birds here and there. 

These cranberry glass goblets made just plain water beautiful.

I love to include a menu card and I'm always surprised how many people take it home.  The quote that I used this time from Henry Van Dyke reads:  "The first day of spring is one thing and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month".  

The salt and pepper set is nestled in a wire basket.

This dish held Splenda and lemon wedges.

Here's the way the coffee/tea tray looked.

This was such a happy day and a happy table.

When the girls arrived, we had what we call "bridge tea" in the bar.  It is a calorie-free ginger tea. These glasses are from Ikea and so are the napkins.

This tray is from Ikea, too.  I used it for spoon shaped pastrys topped with pimento cheese and garnished with chives.  The spoons are just refrigerator pie crust with seasoning sprinkled on top and then baked.  I saw this in some magazine this spring and it said that Crate and Barrel had a spoon shaped cookie cutter.  When I went shopping for it, they said they never had such an item, so I just cut one out of light weight cardboard and cut around it.  They were fragile, but oh, so good!

Asparagus soup was the first course, garnished with pink sour cream and chives.  I found these little lidded ramekins at Homegoods several years ago.  The green plate is vintage depression glass and I added a paper doily.  The soup spoons are vintage silver plate.

The main course was a luncheon salad that was a riff on procuitto wrapped melon.  The greens were wrapped in procuitto, and then the plate was napped in melon coulis, small melon chunks, and toasted pine nuts.  I first had this salad at a bistro in State College, Pennsylvania called Zola's when were were there for a Penn State football game.

What better spring dessert is there than strawberry shortcake?????

It was a lovely day with lovely ladies and I am so grateful for their friendship.  I love to set a table and cook for them, as their appreciation is deep and genuine.  The day just ended too soon.

Joining:

Open House Thursday

No Minimalist Here

Tablescape Thursday

Between Naps On the Porch

Featherd Nest Friday

French Country Cottage

Seasonal Sundays

The Tablescaper

                                                                 

Let's Dish

Cuisine Kathleen

Wisteria and Wonderful Friends

Every now and then you have a dinner party that is so much fun that you know you'll remember it forever.  We had such a party Saturday night!  The wisteria was blooming, so it became the theme of the table and I added French zinc as the accents to go with the lavender and cream.

It was a soft look and just right for the occasion.

Each placesetting was simple and pretty.

Here's how the plates stacked up.

I started with "zinc" chargers.  These are really plastic charges from Old Time Pottery spray painted with a primer and then chalkboard paint.  Then using the side of a piece of chalk, just rub it in and wipe off.  I made these for so many people on my Christmas list this year.  I saw the tutorial on someone's blog and I wish I could remember where.  I'd love to give credit where it is due!

This looks like a Ralph Lauren pattern that I have admired, but it is Gibson china from Old Time Pottery.

Then the cabbage leaf dessert plate was added for the "something special".  These are very old and I'd love to have more.  I got them from a dealer at Queen of Hearts Antique Shop in Alpharetta, Georgia.

This French flatware adds more cream to the table.

I stuck a little bit of wisteria into every one's napkin ring.  These wire ones are from Pottery Barn this spring.  These lavender napkins are over stock from a party rental site.

I really have to learn to photograph glassware.  This is a light purple stem from Crate and Barrel and a Reidel stemless wine glass.

Every placesetting had a reproduction of a Victorian velvet bird at the top.  Aren't these wonderful?  They are from the floral wholesaler.

These salt and pepper shakers not only fit the color scheme, but felt like spring to me.

Pierre Deux makes this pewter cream pitcher.  Doesn't he make you smile?

I was going to use this basket for the rolls, but I ended up using it for something else.

This domed plate held the Parmesan crisps.  I found that I had lots of this wire look to put together.

Here's the pedestal I used for the floral arrangement.

Here's the bar set up for drinks.  It was such a beautiful day that we had them out by the pool, even though we were covered by pollen when we came in.

This was the most delicious cocktail that I've made in a very long time.  I'll post about the meal latter this week.  The blackberries made it tie in with the purple theme!!!

This is the dish of garnishes for the drinks.

Here's how I used the wire basket.  I put our monogrammed glasses for drinks in it with the lavender napkin.

These are my most favorite napkins in all of my linen closet.  They are antique ones that my mother found for us with our initials on them.  I've had them for years and they just get more beautiful with use.

Thanks, friends, for the memories!

Be sure to go to

betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

for a great blog party of tablescapes.

A Little Birdie Told Me That Spring is Coming!

After all of the ice and snow that we've had here in Atlanta, I'm ready to think about spring.  I set this table for dinner tonight with that in mind.  Out went the fall colors, out went the reds and greens of Christmas, and in came celedon and pink with cream.

It's a little hard to tell in this photo, but these dinner and salad plates are the prettiest shade of celedon green.  Almost a turquoise, but not quite.  They are marked on the back "Pagnossin" and made in Italy. 

They seemed to go with these cream colored linens.  The placemat is from a set I've had for years.  I think my mom gave them to me.  The doilies are from an antique auction in Ohio.  I have three sizes, so I used them for under the flowerpots, water glasses, and wine tumblers.  I just love antique linens and I use them frequently.  I even find it pleasurable to iron them.  (I know, I know.)

Everything was kept to a pale palate.

These cabbage leaf dishes are majolica reproductions made in Portugal.  They make the perfect bread and butter dishes.

Pale pink linen napkins are fanned in a sea glass colored a resin napkin ring from Boxwoods in Atlanta.

I think these water glasses came from Marshall's quite a few years ago.  I remember going to several stores to get eight of them.  The wine tumblers are from Macy's Martha Stewart line. They are such thin glass that I'm forever afraid of breaking them.  I wish I had bought a few extra just in case!  The proportions are a little off in this shot.  The stem is really much bigger than the tumbler.

I used this French inspired flatware with cream handles and just because the color was so good with this table, I included these zinc knife rests.

;

I found them at Boxwoods.  I'm sure they are reproductions and probably not really made of zinc, but they seem to be washed with it. 

Here's the inspiration for the title of the tablescape.  These velvet birds came from the floral wholesaler.  I placed one at each place setting.  Don't they look like old Victorian pieces?  I may be rushing the Easter look, but I thought that they made the table a little more interesting.  Hopefully, they suggest spring, not Easter just yet.

These candlesticks added a bit more whimsy.  They are metal with glass teardrops.  I can't remember where they came from.

Using the zinc look from the knife rests, I echoed it in the flower pots.  They also came from the flower wholesaler.  I filled them with pink roses, pave style.

After I shot this, I remembered that I have some seeded eucalyptus and I should have added it to the arrangement.  The blue-green color would have been perfect.

For dessert (lemon cheesecake!) I used these very pale turquoise opalescent plates from Homegoods.  They look old, don't they?

Here's an aerial view of the table.  These roses were such a surprise.  They started out very, very pale pink and darkened as they opened. 

Do you feel that spring is a bit closer?  I noticed that the days are getting a wee bit longer.  It's definitely still winter, but I did feel a little hopeful about the coming of spring.  Seed catalogues, anyone?

Look for me to post at Between Naps on the Porch for Susan's Tablescape Thursday blog party.  You'll love the entries there. 

betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

I'm also posting with Robin's All Things Inspired.  Go see the kinds of things that bloggers are entering at her wonderful blog.  I am always so inspired by Robin herself!