Old China and Warm Chatter

Sometimes you just need a day to catch up .  My dear friend and I have recently been on similar pathways but they haven't seemed to converge.  We both experienced a loss of someone in our immediate families in the last couple of months, and while we tried to be there for each other, we just never seemed to be able to get together to privately share.  So, today, we set aside the day to lunch and get caught up.  

I wanted to make her feel extra loved, so I tried to set a table that was just a little special.  It recently feels a bit like spring, so I tried for a fresh, crisp table.  I started with this organdy embroidered cloth layered over a white linen cloth and set at a small table in our breakfast room.

Isn't this a pretty cloth?

Then I chose this old china that has a maidenhair fern pattern on it.  I often use it for St. Patrick's Day because it reminds me of shamrocks.  It's made in England by John Haddock and Sons, but I don't know the pattern name.

It was a simple, but pretty table, using green handled flatware from World Market.

The napkins were a grass green cotton, layered with a fine, white, hand-embroidered linen one, then I settled on a simple white wicker napkin ring.

These water goblets might be the deal of the century.  They are a knock-off of some exquisite William Yeoward fern-patterned ones at about one twentieth of the price.  Our daughter chose the real things for her wedding crystal, and they have become so expensive that I declared her collection complete.  Then I found these and I scooped some up for her and added a few for me.  Hope she isn't reading this, as I'm planning to surprise her with these for her anniversary.

This delicate green swirl glass was picked up at Scott's Antique Mart years ago.

This china came with lots of extra pieces and I couldn't resist using these tiny little butter pat plates .

For the asparagus soup, I layered a green depression glass plate, a white paper doily, and a small soup tureen.

This white azalea in a white urn, topped with bright green moss reigned in place of flowers.

It fed my need for spring! 

This little salt and pepper holder came from Pierre Deux years ago.  Don't you miss that beautiful store.

The Waterford cream and sugar rested in another piece of the china.

I make it a policy not to photograph my friends when I blog about a get-together, but I wish you could begin to know the beauty that my guest brought to this table.

Joining:

The Scoop

The Greenbrier Look

It's no secret......I love the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.  It is a truly timeless hotel that has such iconic decor that it has spawned it's own style.  "Greenbrier Style" says it all.  Originally decorated by Dorothy Draper, it is resort style at it's best. It's Chinioserie, it's Chippendale, it's tropical, and it's BEAUTIFUL.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this fabric on sale for less than five dollars a yard.  Yep.  Less than five dollars. (Thank you Amy Barfield for this awesome source of deeply discounted designer fabric!)  This is really from the Williamsburg collection, but it says "Greenbrier" to me!

Don't you agree?  This green is a shade that is on trend right now.  Emerald green?  Maybe, but it's Greenbrier green to me. And I knew the pink would give me another fresh, preppy color to use on this table.

And here's the detail that put the table design squarely into the style I was looking for.  I painted the grey metal palm tree candle holders that Target has for sale right now with white glossy spray paint.  Bingo!  It goes old-school tropical and is perfect for what I wanted.

Then, I remembered that I had a pair of these white Chippendale style chachepots.  I used one of them for this arrangement of pink roses and alstromeria.  

So here's the way the table came together.  I set it up early in the day on the round white deck.

I spray painted an inexpensive plastic charger from Old Time Pottery with green paint from Home Depot, and used one of my favorite white wicker patterned plates from Portugal.  The salad size plate is green Depression glass, and I topped it with a white lions-head tureen.

This green handled flatware is from World Market.

I was so excited to find these hobnail goblets at Homegoods.  I bought the only four that they had and paired them with Reidel stemless wineglasses.

Here's the placesetting.

The napkins are also from Homegoods and I thought they looked just right without any special folding or napkin ring.  

It was even prettier by evening than it was earlier in the day. 

I can't say that 28 presidents have had dinner with us, but it does make me feel like we're dining a la Dorothy Draper.

Joining:

Tabletop Tuesday

A Stroll Through Life

Wow Us Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style

Open House Thursday

No Minimalist Here

Tablescape Thursday

Between Naps On the Porch

Inspiration Friday

At The Picket Fence

Feathered Nest Friday

French Country Cottage

Fridays Unfold

Stuff and Nonsense

Seasonal Sundays

The Tablescaper

Saint Patrick's Day Dinner

I love St. Patrick's Day, but I feel the same way about celebrating it as I do New Year's Eve.....better to be at home with friends than out with those hell-bent on mischief and debauchery.  So we plan on a small dinner party with good friends and a high-low mix of tabletop items.  My favorite kind of table to design!

 

The china I'll be using is a beautiful button fern pattern.....close enough to shamrocks, don't you think?  I found an entire service for 12 at a tag sale in Conneticut.  It has an amazing amount of dining and serving pieces.  Not as many as it did when I bought it, though!  As I opened the back of my daughter's SUV to take out Adam's stroller, out fell all 12 dinner plates and they smashed to a million pieces.  Not even worth taking to a restorer.  I do have these small luncheon plates, and luckily they go well with my plain gold band Lenox when I want to serve dinner as I do here.  It doesn't have a pattern name on the back, just that it is English and made by John Maddock and Sons. 

These white linens are from the Palm Restaurant line that Homegoods carries.  They wash so well and don't take too much ironing, considering they are linen.  I tied the napkin with fun shamrock ribbon and a green glittery derby hat from Michael's.  This flatware is from World Market.  I use a lot of green on my tables, but most of it is more of a moss green shade.  This is a clearer color but was so inexpensive that I just scooped up eight placesettings.

What other crystal would you use for St. Patrick's Day but Waterford????  This is the Lismore pattern and just for fun, I placed each stem on a foam shamrock from Michael's.

I love these little butter plates.  I'll put a pat of butter on each one topped with a fresh clover leaf.  I've been out checking the paddock for some unfertilized ones.  I'm afraid to use some from the yard, and anyhow, there shouldn't be any if the pre-emergent is doing it's job!

Here's the luncheon sized plate that I'll use for the salad course.

Dessert will be served on these green depression glass plates.  There are several shades of green depression glass, but I love this rather blue/green the best.  I had such a nice afternoon antiquing with my mom when I found them.  It's the memories that make your moderately priced "finds" priceless.

 Here's a close-up of the pattern.  As you can tell, it's pretty well crazed, but then, so am I!!

Here are the old standby Imperial glass salt and peppers that I use so often.  I also used the creamer and sugar bowl from this pattern.

These very fine green mercury glass votives came from that exclusive tabletop store - Krogers!

A friend of mine asked me to go to a fund raising luncheon with her a couple of months ago and this incredible white faux bois basket was on the silent auction table.  I was the first person to bid on it and I was so determined to get it that I never moved the rest of the way around the tables, as I was hovering to protect my bid.  I must have put off "don't touch" vibes, because during the entire cocktail hour, NOBODY else even placed a bid.  Just as the bidding was about to close, I upped my own bid just because I thought that I was getting it too cheaply!  Look at the handle.........

and check out this close-up of the design.  It could hardly be more wonderful!

I filled it with three shamrock plants from Trader Joe's and some white daisies in water tubes tucked in here and there.

Here's an overhead.  I also used some small glittered shamrocks from Michael's just scattered around for a little more cheer.  I think you can really, really go cheesy with St. Patrick's Day stuff if you aren't careful.

I reigned it in a bit, but still feel like it is a festive table.  Green beer, anyone??

I'll be linking with Between Naps on the Porch for her Tabletop Thursday blog party.

Strawberry Breakfast

Who doesn't love strawberries?  Well, we all do, at least.  But especially my niece, Alison, who visited us from Orlando this weekend.  She brought her sweet daughter, Anna for a girl's weekend with my mother.  Four generations of strawberry lovers!

Breakfast on our first morning was on these little plates that I got at Homegoods last summer.  They had some serving pieces, too , but I contained myself. 

 

The flatware was some very simple red handled pieces from Target, I think. 

I still had a red tablecloth on the table from Valentine's Day so I just threw these apple green placemats on top and used these green depression glasses for juice.

These cute little cups with attached plates came from Michael's this month some time.  They are an apple green, even though they don't photograph here too well.  Perfect for strawberries, don't you think?

This centerpiece was a left over, too.  I have lillies, carnations, and daisies from the grocery store in one of my favorite vases.  I actually see some strawberry plants with those darling little white flower blooms in a bowl as the perfect centerpiece, but, hey, this had to do!

I brought this back from France after seeing them everywhere.  Does anyone know what this application of china flowers is called?

As Anna pointed out, the pomegranate juice even played into the color scheme.  A seven-year-old tablescaper in the making!

I can't forget the beginning of this whole table.  Our dear friends, and our daughter's in-laws brought these to us as a hostess gift one time.  Aren't they beautiful?  They are the BEST!

I'm posting on Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Be sure to visit there for some great inspiration.

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