Can There Be Dish Overload???????

I've spent the last two days at the Atlanta Gift Show at America's Mart.  It is the largest gift show in the USA.  If there can be such a thing as dish coma, I think that I'm suffering from it!!!!

What's your pleasure?  Fine porcelain, bamboo, melamine, tin, pottery, or paper?

Home James

And your design preference?  Oriental, rustic, contemporary, floral, whimsical, or nautical?

Home James

And your linens?  Cotton, organdy, linen, or blends?

Home James

Placemats?  Straw, linen, polypropylene, cotton, or twig?

Home James

How about serving pieces?

Home James

Candlesticks?

Home James

Glassware?

And then there were the seven floors of holiday decorations!!  Don't even let me start there!!!!

It is an event filled with drama.  Every exhibitor is hoping for that big order that puts them on the map and every buyer is hoping to find those very special items that make their shop a "must shop" place with plenty of profit.  It's a balancing act that brings hoards of people and merchandise to the heart of Atlanta.  It's so much fun to attend.  I can just observe and learn the new sources, as I don't have to sell or stock a shop.  I'm just there to find the "stuff" for my design clients.  Boy!!!  Am I full of ideas!!!! 

Be sure to read tomorrow's post.  To celebrate my 100th post, I have a great giveaway!!! 



Pinch Me!!!!

I've had these lobster table linens for quite a while and I've been waiting to do a post with them.

This morning when our grandsons came out to the pool in their lobster swim trunks, I knew that today was the day!

I set the table pool side with a red/wht/blue color story.

The placemat and napkin came from Homegoods several years ago.  I used them over a plain white hotel linen cloth.

 I used these chargers from Portugal. They sort of remind me of the Nantucket basket design.

Next was these red dinner plates from Ballard Designs.

Then these crab salad plates from Target.  They are on sale now for $1.25.  What a deal.

These blue glasses have been around forever.

The red flatware and the lobster pick are all from Target.  Most of the lobster themed stuff is from Target from several years ago 

like this bucket that I used for the napkin and the flatware with the lobster pick.

I set one at each place.

Here's the placecard holder.

and here's the individual butter warmer.

I almost never use these kinds of "gems" on a table, because I find them just too kitchy, but this table is all about the kitch!

A simple shell holds the salt and pepper with a horn spoon.

Years ago, some houseguests brought us this three dimensional seafood platter and at the time, I thought it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen.  Well....tastes evolve, and now I love it.

I like to use this souvenier from Seaside, Florida as an ice bucket when we have a casual, beachy dinner.

I got these desert plates from Homegoods about two weeks ago.

This red scolloped pottery bowl holds greens and daisies from our garden.  Then, after I had taken some pictures, my daughter suggested that we add some blue hydrangeas and it looked so much better.  Thanks, Susie!

This made a fun, casual table pool-side.

It's a good thing, since that's where we spent the last day of their Camp Neena/Boppa.

It was 102 degrees today, so this was the perfect place to be.  I'll miss these guys soooo much, as they bring such joy to us. 

Here's a disclaimer:  We did NOT have lobster tonight.  We cooked salmon and had it over caesar salad and the dessert plates were not even used, as we served a very child-friendly ice cream sandwich for dessert.  You go with that they are most likely to eat, and lobster was just not worth the risk.  However, the five year old's favorite soup is Turtle Soup, so who knows....they might have loved it!

I'm joining Susan at Thursday Tablescape

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Be sure to visit!  

The Boys of Summer

What a great day!!!  We have our two youngest grandsons here from Ohio while Mom and Dad celebrate their tenth anniversary on a well-deserved trip.  This house and the land is made for little boys!  Tonight was a momentous event.  Our seven year old, Teddy, took his first solo kayak ride.  

With Boppa and little brother as the "pilot boat", I loaded Teddy into a kayak and gave him a push off of the dock.

It took a bit of trial and error.....

but in a suprisingly short time, he was circling the lake like a pro.

Teddy is an excellent swimmer and takes direction well.  He's used to boats and has water sports in his DNA.  He was a total natural.

Here's the flotilla!

Owen is just the right size to stick in the cargo space and he thinks he's the captain of the regatta!

How does a kid feel when he masters a new endeavor?

VICTORIOUS!!!!!!!

Fading Hydrangeas

Our hydrangeas are fading from the brilliant blue they were this summer to this smoky blue and lavender.  They were the inspiration for the table I set for dinner last night.  I put them in a galvanized container that I have sprayed with bleach to make it look more like old zinc.

I featured the lavender with cream and grey on a round tablecloth of cream burlap. 

Only a few minutes after I set the table, but before I photographed it, Mr. Pressed Pants called to ask me to join him at his business dinner.  I never turn down an offer like that, so I put on some lipstick and flew out the door, leaving the table as it sat.  I was not two miles from home, when the heavens opened and when I got home, I had a soaked table with an inch of rain in the glasses.

I pulled things inside to dry off and reset the table this morning as soon as it was light outside.  Doesn't the early light make things look interesting?

Here's the simple placesetting.

I did a quick stack of charger, dinner plate and salad plate.

I made these for several people for Christmas this year.  They are just inexpensive plastic chargers primed with spray paint, sprayed with grey paint, then rubbed with chalk and "erased".  Directions were several places in blogland.  Don't they look like lead?  This one is still a bit wet!

The white scalloped dinner plates are from Z Gallerie.

These beautiful old salad plates are Bavarian.

The flatware is from Neiman Marcus many years ago.

The crisp, lavender dinner napkin is from a restaurant overstock website.

Pottery Barn sold these chicken wire napkin rings this spring.  I couldn't resist!!!

This soft lavender glassware is so pretty.  I wish I knew how to photograph glassware well.  The stem has beautiful details on it like Juliska, but it was very inexpensive and I think I found them at T. J. Maxx years ago.

Then I chose these French seed pots to go with them as wine cups.

My mother gave me these individual pewter salt and pepper shaker many, many years ago for Christmas.

And I've had this pewter cruet set for many years.  It was a wedding gift.

This cute guy is a rather recent purchase.  I couldn't decide on using him, or the individual pewter salt and peppers.  I ended up photographing the table with both sitting on it!  Oh, well.  Dinner could have been well seasoned!

The wine coaster is actually a candle holder, but I love the look of it as a wine holder.

As you can see, we might not have had dinner at home last night, but we did manage to drink the wine.

Not an intricate tablescape, but restful.

The pots behind the table are filling in nicely.  Well, at least two of the three are!

So guess what?  This became a rather fancy breakfast table for Cheerios and fruit!  No, we didn't finish the wine with breakfast, but it was a nice way to start the day.

We should do this more often.

I'll be posting this with Between Naps On the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/