A Toile Tale: dahlias

Monday, September 2, 2013

Dahlias and Tomatoes

Last week, on my way home from Cashiers, N. C. (post to come on that), I passed a darling couple who were selling dahlia plants and arrangements. If you've ever driven that area, you know how I risked my life when I turned around at my first opportunity and went back to buy some. That mountain is steep and the curves are wicked. Here's what I chose: mixed dahlias in a commercial sized empty tomato tin can. Here they are sitting on the railing of our deck when I got home.

Well, I originally intended to put the flowers into another container, but as I looked at them, I decided to celebrate the humble tomato with a yellow and red tablescape.

I haven't used these dishes or these linens in ages.

These French linens from Souleiado fit the bill. Actually, the French do red and yellow together pretty often, and these small prints were just about perfect to go with this can label.

I used these wicker chargers from World Market and added a dinner plate made in Portugal by Vista Alegre called "Bahia".

Then, to make a break from the busy tablecloth and dinner plate, I added a salad plate by Over and Back, Inc., made in Italy. The bowls were some I picked up at Homegoods last year, made by 222 Fifth and fittingly called "Heirloom Tomato". Each one of the four is different and the variety is depicted on the outside, as well as the inside. This one is all red......

This one all yellow.......

Another red one......

And a red and yellow stripe. I served gazpacho in them, of course!

I think this red and yellow flatware came from Target many moons ago.

This red goblet is pretty old. I can't even remember where I got it. The clear stemless wine glass beside it is Reidel.

Even though there were just four of us, I put out place cards, mainly because I wanted to use these small, red zebra tomatoes with them. Aren't they cute? And, man, oh man, do they taste good! All of the tomatoes come from a wonderful road side fruit stand called Osage Farms in Rabun Gap that I passed on the way up to Cashiers and couldn't wait to stop at on my way home. Incredible stuff!

It made a pretty table. Kind of different, and certainly a tribute to the end of summer.

Overhead view.

Just before our company came, I was in the refrigerator getting cheese, and I spied this quart of heirloom cherry tomatoes in all of these great colors, so I sprinkled them around the base of the tin and shot one more photo. Brilliant, huh???? I love the way they look.

Ahhhh! Daliahs. That north Georgia/ North Carolina area grows some mighty fine beauties. I had heard that all of the rain this year spoiled them, but the sweet lady I bought these from said that God shone on her fields and she had plenty! I love that!

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Tablescape Thursday

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No Minimalist Here

Monday, June 25, 2012

Asian Aubergine

Ooooommmmmm.

I've been sitting on this beautiful piece of fabric for a couple of weeks. I wasn't sure how I was going to use it, but I thought it was stunning.

And the best part was the price. My friend, Amy Barfield,(who is so talented and fabulous that you could almost hate her), told me about a small fabric outlet that has designer fabrics. Designer fabrics????????? Can you say Scalamandre? Holy smokes! Hold onto you hats.....it was less than five dollars per yard. I scooped it up and ran for the hills. (I was afraid they would change their mind.)

Then, the other day, I was at T.J. Maxx and I found this perfect piece to go with it. I had planned to use my white orchids and some river rocks, but I wasn't too excited about that, and I was still thinking about it, so when I found this, I knew I could make it into a centerpiece.

So I did!

Kroger had these lovely white dahlias with just a touch of lavender on the edges, and I filled in a bit with white alstroemeria that had lavender stripes and spots on them. The other material was a neighborhood "donation". I cut the bamboo from my next door neighbor's without even asking him. It's bamboo, people! It grows and spreads faster than kudzu! Anyhow, he loves me and would give me anything! And our nearby nursery has a large area of reeds which they said they were happy to share with me. I offered to buy some, but they told me to just go snip! Thanks, Autumn Hill!

Simple and serene.

I first tried to use a purple toile plate that I recently found at Target. I did a post about it here. But it was WAY too busy, so I tried these taupe scalloped plates from ZGallerie. They almost matched the browny-lavender color in the fabric.

Here's how they looked.

I needed a light colored flatware, so this cream cutlery worked fine.

These light lavender napkins worked, too, and I tucked some reeds and bamboo into the corner of the fold.

Glassware needed to be simple, too. I used a light purple stem and a stemless Riedel wine.

Can you tell it has a light purple hue?

Here's a placesetting.

I brightened the table up a bit when I added these carved soapstone votives with a definite Chinoiserie vibe. These were on clearance at Yankee Candle last week. I was lucky to find them, because I rarely go into the store. I just can't stand the smell. I know it's lovely to some, but my senses are always screaming, "Let's get out of here!". Fortunately, they had them displayed just inside the door, and I saw them from the mall. They were meant to be used with oil, but I took that part out, and used a small candle.