Turquoise and White Summer Dinner Party

First, I found these beauties!

Then I found these to go with them.

I already had these.....

And these.....

And these!

And a dinner party was born.

Place mats are from Homegoods, dinner plates and salad plates from Z Galleries, and soup tureen from Target.

Here's the way the table came together.  We were expecting six, but ended up with a cozy four. 

I wanted to keep the turquoise and white and coral thing going, so the center of the table was a very simple gathering of a large piece of white coral surrounded by white shells.  Then I threw in a few pieces of turquoise sea glass to give a tiny bit of color.

Couldn't be easier.

I put these large extra-white roses in some clear turquoise glasses from Martha Stewart.  There was an arrangement at each end of the table.

Here's the bread and butter plate I used.  It says "Made in Italy" and the mark reads "Andrea Galvani, Pordemone" and has "Carbone" in script.  I have about 6 complete place settings, lots of serving pieces, and an espresso set.  I bought it years ago at a consignment shop in Shaker Heights, Ohio that benefited the American Red Cross. These butter shapes are made in a Wilton candy mold from Micheal's.

I put a Greek Gazpacho in these.  It was a new recipe that I had never tried and it was yummy.  Perfect for our hot summer night.

We aren't martini drinkers and not many of our friends are, either, but I totally had to buy these at Tuesday Morning.  They are deeply etched in such a cool beach theme.  I immediately envisioned a crab salad in them, but because I was serving seafood for the main course, I used them for dessert.  I just grilled a slice of pineapple, and put a scoop of Hagen-Daz pineapple-coconut ice cream on top and sprinkled a bit of toasted coconut over all.  I diced the pineapple to fit the shape of this glass, but I usually just put the ring on a plate and top with the ice cream.  Listen..........this is great........this is easy..........people love it!!!!  Why bake a cake? 

 

The flatware is my off-white French knock-off.  It looks great and was a fraction of the cost of the set that I thought I had to have.

Salt and pepper in a shell with horn spoons.

I took most of these photos the night before the dinner.  The lighting was not great and these turquoise pieces seem to be sort of fighting, but truly, it was a beautifully harmonious table.

This rattan runner and sea-themed stuff has been on the dining table for a couple of weeks.  I moved it to the sideboard for the meal.

Just a Pottery Barn bowl with sand and shells and a little sea glass.

These Pottery Barn hurricanes have the same treatment.

The small chest in the dining room has a clear turquoise bottle filled with a few simple snips from the yard.  It has a very narrow neck, so only a very few pieces of greenery will work.

I set up some glasses in the bar with these Caspari cocktail napkins.

And here's the coffee service with a shell-handled spoon for the sugar.

We had this appetizer out in the garden after we all got drinks.  Do you remember fixing this all of the time in the late '70's?  It's a veggie pizza on crescent rolls with a ranch dressing mixed with mayo and cream cheese.  Then any veggies (I used broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, green onions, and grated carrots.  Then top with shredded cheddar.  It is so refreshing and tasty, especially for summer.  I garnished it with basil leaves and garlic chive blossoms.

Here's a close-up.  Does it make your mouth water?  I took the left-overs to a picnic the next night and they were licked clean.

I was wishing that my blogger friend, Alycia Nichols from Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One could join me that night.  I really must find a way to meet her for a "for-real" hug.  Do you think that it was Alycia-worthy?

Menu:

Veggie Pizza

(served in the garden)

Greek Summer Gazpacho

(Southern My Way by Gena Knox)

Beach Street Cajun Shrimp

(Susan Branch's The Summer Book)

served over

Orzo Salad With Corn

(Stonewall Kitchen's Harvest)

Pineapple/Coconut Sundaes

*Sorry...no pics of most of the meal.  I just can't talk and serve and photograph at the same time, it seems!

I'll be posting at:

Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

French Country Home for Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/

Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday

At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Stuff and Nonsense for Fridays Unfond

http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

Ferns in the Garden - 100th post!!!!!!!

Welcome to my 100th post!!!!

I could never have known, almost a year ago, how much I would love this wonderful use of the internet.  As a celebration of your interest and friendship, there is a giveaway at the end of the post.

First, though, I invite you back into my garden for a dinner among the ferns.

 

This round tablecloth was the inspiration.  Homegoods!!!!  Again!!!!  It came with eight napkins.  I'm not sure who could use eight napkins with a 90" tablecloth, but better too many than not enough.  I'll be set to replace those lipstick-ruined, grease-stained, or just plain lost-in-the-laundry napkins that we all have.

 

As soon as I saw this fern design on the border, I had a great idea. 

I decided I wanted to set the table along this fern bank that we have in the woods.  Then, the thought of dragging the table, chairs, dishes, flowers, ice, and so on into the woods made me come to my senses.

I did take a few shots of some of the elements among the ferns.

So, I left the ferns to the wildlife and set off to the garden.

I brought out this unfinished table that I keep in the potting shed.  If you want to see the shed, take a peek here.

Also, on the border was this design of ferns with white flowers.  Ding, ding, ding!  The flowers were now planned out of the ones that were growing right there in the garden.

And here's the result.

Just two place settings tonight.

Here's how I brought lots of different shades of green together. 

Starting with a wicker charger, I added these simple dinner plates.  You might not believe this, but these plates came from Goodwill.  I was so sure as I picked them up, that they were old French plates, but when I turned them over, they said "microwave and dishwasher safe"!  Hummmm.  Guess they're not old!  They also have "mse" in tiny letters on them.  What do you think?  Martha Stewart Enterprise????

Then I layered the apple green salad plates from Target and the white lion's head soup tureens, also from Target, I think.

Years ago, I bought these little plates at the floral wholesaler.  I use them for tapas, appetizers, or as I have here.

These green glasses for water are made by Imperial Glass, and the little wicker covered ones are for wine.

The flatware is from World Market.  I got it a couple of months ago, and they still carry it.  It is available by the piece.

This green urn is a good size for this small table.

I added these two small baskets for interest and texture.  One is wicker and one is carved ivory.  I bought them from a sweet little antique store on Cape Cod.

There's one more thing on the table.

Our anniversary is coming up in a few days.  I'm giving Mr. Pressed Pants some golf lessons and he has to schedule them, so I'm giving them to him tonight.  Don't tell.  I love pretty papers almost as much as dishes, so I love to wrap pretty gifts and make cards.

These French burlap pillows make these generic chairs more interesting and more comfortable.

This wooden tray holds a brown glass bottle I like to use for water, a couple of bark covered votives, and some bark gathered in the woods for a project I'm working on.

And what have we here?

An ice cold bottle of white wine in this faux bois cachpot.

I put the pasta salad in this lidded tureen from Portmerion.

The ferns on the lid are perfect for this table. 

It was a nice night, and we sat for a long time until we were either going to have to use bug spray or go in.  It was getting dark, the dishes needed to be loaded, and Design Star was soon on.  In we went!

And NOW....may we have a drum roll, please?

I'd love to invite you to enter to win this beautiful book by Joe Nye.

Wouldn't you know that I would find something with toile?

Joe is a Los Angeles interior decorator and party planner.  This beautiful book is rich in photographs and inspiration.  He covers exquisite invitations, lush flowers, and gorgeous table settings. He also offers shopping resources and host/hostess etiquette.

To enter, please become a follower, or tell me if you already are.  If you are not a blogger, be sure that I can reach you by email.  Anyone in the continental US is welcome to enter.  Then leave me a comment and let me know what you like best about this blog.  I promise to have an independent party fairly choose the winner. 

I'll be linking up with Tablescape Thursday with Susan's Between Naps on the Porch at:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/