I get table setting
inspiration from the strangest places, most recently from a combination of
insomnia and Abbott and Costello.
I'm not certain whether it was actually insomnia or the cup of maybe-it-wasn't-really-decaf
coffee that I had at 8:00 one night, but I found myself channel surfing and
stumbled across the 1940s film debut of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the film
“One Night in the Tropics.” It was typical, goofy, 1940s comedy fare, but
the title intrigued me.
Having so thoroughly embraced last month's table to
the extent of getting pretty whiny when I had to take it down, I really wanted to
do something similar and reuse those leafy
placemats. This film title, those
placemats, and a pair of monkey bookends swiped from my dad's coffee table
(with his permission, of course) and my tropical table was born!
The centerpiece with both monkeys and birdcage sans a bit of leafy
greenery is what is on the coffee table in dad's living room. My mother bought
those monkeys about 30 years ago when we were going through a “tropical” stage, and I
have loved them ever since. It pleased me enormously to have them on this
table. She would have loved it.
The tall palm tree candles I have had for ages, so long in fact, that I
don't even remember where I bought them. The shorter candle holders called my
name from the corner of my favorite local consignment store, so I made that
grab immediately.
The leaf placemats and story of how I got them you will recall from here. The round wicker placemats on top of them are from Pier One.
The wonderful bamboo bordered palm and banana tree salad plates are by
Fitz and Floyd. Two different tree designs are on these plates, the design is
called “Cape Town.”
Considering the
monkeys and banana trees, I had serious thoughts about using some bananas as a part of the
centerpiece, but Mr. O-P ate them, so I instead chose touches of yellow with
these fabulous goblets and Radiant Yellow Primastone flatware by Noritake.
The napkins from
Pottery Barn paired perfectly with the plates, I thought.
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