A Toile Tale

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Coral and Turquoise On the Coral and Turquoise Terrace!

Since this isn't a terribly hot evening, we're having a couple of neighbors over for a simple cook-out. I couldn't wait to use these pieces which I've had for years with our new cushions and tablecloth on the stone terrace.

Even the flowers are re-runs from an event earlier in the week.

I added a piece of white coral, some sea shells, and a bit of sea glass to make the centerpiece a bit more interesting. Then I snuggled a votive with an orange candle into the mix.

Then I added these little china starfish.

I started without the orange placemats, but the plates were lost on all of that pattern. That's ok, since, even though the cloth is outdoor fabric, I probably won't have to wash it now. :-)

Here's the placesetting I settled on.

These dishes are from a wonderful store that has closed in Atlanta called The Plantation Shop. They are made by Murval and are very heavy, which is good for outdoors. I thought the bamboo flatware would be a good choice to go with them.

I think I bought these embroidered napkins at the same time at The Plantation Shop. I'm wondering why I bought eight napkins and only 4 placesettings of the dishes. Maybe that's all they had, but I sure wish I had 4 more. The coral shaped napkin rings were from Pottery Barn, I think.

I really don't remember where I got these coral stemmed plastic glasses. Aren't they cute? I have no problem mixing "real" dishes with plastic, or melamine, or even paper. Many would faint at the idea, but I say, that unless you are entertaining royalty, the mix is interesting and fun.

Since I had these cute little bowls to match, I decided to serve gazpacho as a first course. It's perfect for a summer night, and soooo easy. I was at the Alpharetta Farmers' Market this morning and all of the produce I needed for it was so beautiful. It was a no brainer.

Serving soup also meant I got to use these spoons from World Market. I got some other serving pieces like this, too, but I was already bordering on coral overkill!

Something tells me that I'll be using this frequently this summer, as it is the perfect combo for our new outdoor colors. You can see a post I did about them here.

See that dock at the lake at the bottom of the lawn? I bet the men will be down there fishing before dark. Janet and I will be reading my new copy of Annie Falk's Hamptons Entertaining. It's so inspiring that I think I might plan another dinner party for tomorrow!

Joining:

Tablescape Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch

Share Your Style

No Minimalist Here

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The Scoop

Inspire Me Tuesday

Table It

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Wow Us Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style

Make It Pretty Monday

The Dedicated House

Fridays Unfold

www.nancherrow.com

Moonlight and Mason Jars (Wed.)

Celebrate It Sunday

at Celebrate and Decorate

Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Summer of Orange and Turquoise

I seem to be in love with this color combination, so I've re-done our terraces in these cheerful cushions and pillows. Even the pots have been planted in a much more vibrant, coral and white palate.

(Disclaimer: I've been waiting weeks to have our stonework pressure washed. I finally decided to photograph for this post with grimy stones, because, well, summer is almost HALF OVER!!!!)

This makes me smile every time I look at it.

Doesn't this make you want to grab a good book and chill out?

This has so much more pizzazz than our former color selection for the cushions.

This was last year on the terrace. I was all about a woodsy color combination, and it worked really well........

until I spied this fabric! Then some sort of hunger for color kicked in and I was all about turquoise and coral.

I'm so glad for the change.

I even changed all of our swim towels to turquoise and coral. Monogrammed, of course!

This large pot at the corner of the wall is loving the summer rain. Can you see those tiny coral petunias? They are so cute.

This pot has just a touch of coral begonias in with the hardy grass.

This one is full of begonias with a couple of white impatients.

The hummingbirds just love this hibiscus. And I love it, too, as it is just outside my kitchen window and I can admire it AND the hummingbirds!

And this $15 palm from Lowe's makes us all feel like we are in the tropics.

Let's go up the stairs to the white deck.

With the left over material, I made a runner for this table, and turquoise stripped cushions for these side chairs. Things are looking so good. Usually, we are beginning to feel the effects of the 90 degree weather by now, but we've had lots of rain to help things stay green.

Even the fern pots are filling in nicely. Thank goodness that one of the improvements we made when we first moved in was to add drip lines to all of the pots. I could never keep them watered by hand. We also just had the deck re-stained and it's beautiful.

That's the view from the upper terrace to the lake. Maybe I'll soon find time to take those kayaks out, but for now, I'm anxious to set this table for our neighbors tonight. Wait till you see what I have planned!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Four Friends for the Fourth

How many of you had rain-outs for the Fourth? The weather teased us all weekend, and as you can see by this photo of our front door, it was gloomy, gloomy, and rainy as I planned for our small dinner party.

But, inside, it was cheerful and fun, especially after our guests arrived. I had fiddled with dishes, planning the table, but when it came time to set the table indoors, rather than out, I settled on an entirely different look.

I started with this placesetting, and took some of these photos......

then I remembered the star bread and butter plates and added them. Some of these pictures have them and some do not.

Here's the table and the fun chandelier decorations.

I've had these for years and never used them. I planned on hanging them from the dogwood tree as we dined outdoors, but this was a really easy and fun plan B.

This is a flower arrangement I have used many times. I wish it had photographed better. All you need is a container, a piece of oasis, and lots of flowers. Just trim and poke them in, starting with the rim of the container. And these carnations will last and last.

I chose this glassware, but I only had four of these vintage red ones, so I used two more blue glasses.

These old blue and white pottery candlesticks are so versatile.

I love these little individual salt and pepper shakers that have the iconic blue willow pattern.

Our dessert was served on these Old Glory plates. It was a red, white, and blue ice cream torte, and for some reason, a lot of it ended up on that white tablecloth!

What's fresher than a crisp red, white, and blue?

Add four good friends and great conversation and you've got an evening of wonderful memories.

I always carry the flowers or decorations into the powder rooms. Here, I just added a zinc vase of more carnations and some fun hand towels.

Here, I picked a few additional flowers from our cutting garden to bring in all three colors of the holiday.

Well, in this photo, it's dinner time, and the sun is out again. It was too wet and too late to make a move outside, but the sun was good news, since Mr. Pressed Pants had to grill our shrimp skewers. I hope every one of you had a good celebration on this very precious holiday. Happy Birthday, America!

Tablescape Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch

Share Your Style

No Minimalist Here

Centerpiece Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday

The Scoop

Inspire Me Tuesday

Table It

Home Sweet Home

Sheltered Nest Friday

French Country Home

Wow Us Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style

Make It Pretty Monday

The Dedicated House

Fridays Unfold

www.nancherrow.com

Moonlight and Mason Jars (Wed.)

Celebrate It Sunday

at Celebrate and Decorate

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Three Red, White and Blue Tables

We have a wonderful couple coming over for the Fourth, and I want to change up my go to Red/White/Blue table for the patriotic holidays. I took several things down to the lower terrace today to fiddle around. I only set two place settings today, just so I wouldn't have so much to carry in and out.

I kept the red and white checked tablecloth in all three versions.

And these carnations and daisies in this salt glaze pitcher.

First, I did this.

This was all red and white, except for the flag plate.

This Nicole Miller red and white plate is rather contemporary looking, and I used it with this red handled flatware.

I added this salad, or dessert plate that I've had a long time. I had a little accident the last time I used them, so I'm down to five now.

Red Glassware, some new and some vintage.

White serving accessories.

White linen napkin with a napkin ring made from a satin ribbon and Martha Stewart grosgrain embellishment.

Then, I changed it up a bit.

I left the red pieces behind and added blue and white. Can you ever go wrong with blue and white?

This is not Royal Copanhagen! It's pottery with a very similar pattern.

I used a white Portuguese charger under it to give it some relief from the checks.

I changed out the red handled flatware to this blue, gathered the napkin differently, and used a white wicker napkin ring with a couple of tiny flags on picks.