I love to set a nice table when friends are coming. Actually, I love to set a nice table regardless - like a well-made bed, a nicely laid table makes every meal feel more like a celebration.
Last night we hosted two other couples for dinner. I decided in advance that I needed some new place mats and napkins. Since we are constantly laundering the sets that we have given their daily use, after a few month they are either buttery soft or looking quite worn. Spring time is a good time to refresh our supply, so I went downtown to a charming little shop and purchased 8 new place mats in a spring bouquet motif, along with eight fine cotton napkins.
I took the opportunity to cut three daffodils from my garden, since they were almost face down on the ground, due to the heavy rains we had the day before yesterday. There is nothing sadder to me than a drooping flower. They just look so woe begone! But when I brought them in the house, they perked right back up.
Isn't that a cheerful pattern?
And then I couldn't resist bringing in one of the hellebores...
He didn't really match, but he got a lot of attention, which I think pleased him quite a lot.
When I set a table, I typically mix and match plates and I am always looking for new and interesting ones. We do have nice ivory everyday plates and lovely Wedgwood china that I inherited from my mother, but I also collect plates with bird motifs on them and then mix and match:
Last evening, everyone got the same square dinner plate (which coincidentally has birds on it, too!), but a different salad plate.
The chickadees above we especially appropos, as we have a family of chickadees nesting in our inner garden.
I prefer little votive candle holders scattered around the table to formal candlesticks. Maybe that's because I am a klutz?
And voila, the entire table. Simple, but very spring-like in the colours.
The dinner was a bit of a potluck. One couple brought cheeses and fruit to munch on while we drank our kir royales. Dinner was chicken kebobs, a salad made by the other couple and some saffron rice. The kebobs were especially good and marinated in a pomegranate molasses mixture all afternoon. You can try the recipe by going here.
Dessert was skewers of fresh fruit - kiwi, pineapple and strawberries, brushed with a honey-butter mixture, then barbecued as well (covered the BBQ with foil for that). I made my own dip for it - greek yogurt mixed with honey and pure vanilla.
It was a great dinner and we had a lot of laughs and told some good stories! All in all, a great success! Would love to hear how you like to decorate your tables for a dinner party!
I know - you are going to be sick of me going on about my hummingbirds and I promise to stop, but... So far, only one has arrived, which is fairly typical for the first few days. However this fellow spent almost all of yesterday at the very tip of my little (25 feet) elm tree out back.
My husband says he is guarding the feeder that hangs nearby. I like to think he is waiting for his friends, which I believe makes me the more romantic of the two of us!
I hope you have a lovely Sunday - we are puttering this morning, then off to see a movie. Tomorrow, I plan to hit the local plant nursery and do some serious damage to my wallet! I can't wait! Stay safe out there!
Last night we hosted two other couples for dinner. I decided in advance that I needed some new place mats and napkins. Since we are constantly laundering the sets that we have given their daily use, after a few month they are either buttery soft or looking quite worn. Spring time is a good time to refresh our supply, so I went downtown to a charming little shop and purchased 8 new place mats in a spring bouquet motif, along with eight fine cotton napkins.
I took the opportunity to cut three daffodils from my garden, since they were almost face down on the ground, due to the heavy rains we had the day before yesterday. There is nothing sadder to me than a drooping flower. They just look so woe begone! But when I brought them in the house, they perked right back up.
Isn't that a cheerful pattern?
And then I couldn't resist bringing in one of the hellebores...
He didn't really match, but he got a lot of attention, which I think pleased him quite a lot.
When I set a table, I typically mix and match plates and I am always looking for new and interesting ones. We do have nice ivory everyday plates and lovely Wedgwood china that I inherited from my mother, but I also collect plates with bird motifs on them and then mix and match:
Last evening, everyone got the same square dinner plate (which coincidentally has birds on it, too!), but a different salad plate.
The chickadees above we especially appropos, as we have a family of chickadees nesting in our inner garden.
I prefer little votive candle holders scattered around the table to formal candlesticks. Maybe that's because I am a klutz?
And voila, the entire table. Simple, but very spring-like in the colours.
The dinner was a bit of a potluck. One couple brought cheeses and fruit to munch on while we drank our kir royales. Dinner was chicken kebobs, a salad made by the other couple and some saffron rice. The kebobs were especially good and marinated in a pomegranate molasses mixture all afternoon. You can try the recipe by going here.
Dessert was skewers of fresh fruit - kiwi, pineapple and strawberries, brushed with a honey-butter mixture, then barbecued as well (covered the BBQ with foil for that). I made my own dip for it - greek yogurt mixed with honey and pure vanilla.
It was a great dinner and we had a lot of laughs and told some good stories! All in all, a great success! Would love to hear how you like to decorate your tables for a dinner party!
I know - you are going to be sick of me going on about my hummingbirds and I promise to stop, but... So far, only one has arrived, which is fairly typical for the first few days. However this fellow spent almost all of yesterday at the very tip of my little (25 feet) elm tree out back.
My husband says he is guarding the feeder that hangs nearby. I like to think he is waiting for his friends, which I believe makes me the more romantic of the two of us!
I hope you have a lovely Sunday - we are puttering this morning, then off to see a movie. Tomorrow, I plan to hit the local plant nursery and do some serious damage to my wallet! I can't wait! Stay safe out there!
Great post today!
ReplyDeleteI am actually collecting napkins and have a nice collection.Most of them are patterned,as i find plain ones to boring for me.Nearly all of them are from Anthro and very bright/ecclectic:)
We have a long weekend here with monday beeing a state holiday(pentecost),so since it is cool we are just relaxing inside and preparing for italy next weekend.
I am having problems again with posting.When i uploading my pics they look weird like in a horror cabinet( stretched long and wide,if that makes sense).
Hi Ina! I love Anthro linen - they are amazing! I like patterned ones as well - got some lovely ones in Provence last summer! check the size settings in HTML - maybe they got accidentally resized to a weird combo?
DeleteWe are in long weekend mode her as well - it is cool here as well and I am hoping that it warms up as the week goes along - need to get out and do some planting!
Oh I love, love your dinner table, Palmer would be pleased except it would be much too cold where you are for him and his family.
ReplyDeleteWe have hummingbirds too. I'm always wondering why they go so high up in the air to dive straight down. Odd and beautiful creatures.
I'll be getting on an airplane in an hour, gone for almost 10 days. I'll try to visit while I'm gone but definitely see you when I get back. ;)
Have a great trip - will be interested to hear about it when you get back!
DeleteWhat a wonderful table, the plates are so quirky, I love this sort of detail and effort though I hardly ever do it myself. I love kebabs too and kir royales - much yumminess at yours last night!
ReplyDeleteToo much yumminess - woke up with a bit of a headache and have laid on couch all morning reading new dan brown book, which is turns out is perfect hangover read, though it is pushing me to go to Italy - I keep stopping and looking up places from the book - I am in the Boboli Gardens now and I am desperate to go there!
DeleteThat's too bad about your headache. Your table looked so cheery. I'm not usually a pattern person, but love your bird plates and how happy everything looked.
DeleteYour table settings look wonderful. I like colorful tableware myself, it sets a happy, relaxed tone to the meal. Like Ina, I buy mostly from Anthro. I love the rich patterns which remind me of Southern France. They have a nice selection of plates with birds which you might like.
ReplyDeleteHi Marie - I have a few of them - always pick them up when I am at the Anthropologie in Boston. They are lovely - if there was an anthro closer, I would be broke!
DeleteTable linens are such a weakness of mine. I love the Anthro vibe your table as- so fresh ! I especially like the round salad plate over the square plate. That is a great effect. We don't really have a dinner party set among our friends, but it sounds like fun. Hummingbirds are not native to my state, so I still enjoy your pictures.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised you folks don't have hummers so interesting!! I love, love, love mixing and matching, so it is always great fun to try things a different way!
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ReplyDeleteI love the bird plates! I am glad to hear that spring has arrived at your house.
ReplyDeleteHi Hexicon - what I like about a theme is that things don't need to match, as the theme matches for you!
DeleteI too think your hummingbird is keeping a lookout.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned in my May - Sensuality post, May is a great time to buy new table linens since there is usually a good selection available and we are typically in a positive frame of mind, looking forward to dinner parties indoors and out. I like the idea of different plates, it adds interest and they can be great conversation pieces because who hasn't taken note of birds at least once in their life?
Small votives or tea lights scattered about set a more relaxed mood than a candelabra of tapers. I prefer your candles, since they are safer and have less chance of dripping wax. I've always got that practical voice in my ear. I haven't had a dinner party in months and the next one will hopefully be outdoors so there will be candles and tiki torches too. I do love the tiki torches for some reason.
HI xoxo - I forgot about you mentioning the table linens - you are right! I like tiki torches, too! I also like bunting here and there - is always great fun and brings out my inner Brit! I have had bad wax experiences, so I hear you!!!
DeleteLove the table setting - the bird plates are especially adorable. Hope you are having a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteFlowers and birds-- perfect for spring. I have vases of daffodils and tulips all over; a Tiffany one with tulips on it and in it is on the dining table. I tend to use runners on my 8foot long table and no placemats. I have 2 drawers of napkins, tablecloths and aprons to choose from, plain Nantucket Wedgwood plates and grandma's ivory Wedgwood salad plates. MLane made the candlesticks,always beeswax candles.
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