June 26 would have been my dad‘s birthday, and I miss him
mightily. As a consequence, I decided to create a table for two in his honor.
My dad was many things, among them an avid trumpet player, music arranger, and
member of a variety of bands and ensembles. Because of this, I decided to call
this table “The Music Man.”
I wanted the table to be masculine in a similar way to the Hemingway-inspired
table that I did last week. This time I used a
chocolate brown table covering, and topped the tables with original pieces of
sheet music that belonged to my dad. As you can see, this music, yellowed and
crumbling with age, goes back to the 40s. My dad played this music.
At the center of the table is a figure playing a trumpet. This used to be a
part of an arrangement in my parents' living room and is now a part of my
own home, and a cherished part at that.
The piccolo trumpet in the case was one that Jim and I bought my dad for his
birthday. It was more ornamental than anything, but he did enjoy having it. It
was a nice addition to his collection of trumpets, cornets, and a flugelhorn.
We bought this at the Portobello Market when we were living in London, and
carried it back with us.
The candles with the music on the side I bought years ago from Pottery Barn. I
had always intended to use them in a centerpiece when we hosted one of my dad’s
birthday dinners, but for whatever reason I kept losing them. It’s only through
a stroke of luck that I found them in time to use with this table.
Because my dad was a brass player, I decided to use brassy gold
chargers. These are topped with cinnamon colored, nubby-edged plates from Pier
One.
On top of this I used my much loved, immensely versatile, clear
Duralex
plates under which I placed a picture of my
dad, printed on coffee-dyed paper, taken when he was in college, all dressed up
in a white tux and holding his trumpet, ready to perform in a concert at Yale.
Doesn’t he look Hollywood handsome? (I had previously used these plates on a
“Bee”
tablescape.)
I struggled with the napkins, so chose to go with these rather
subdued black and cream plaid ones from Pottery Barn.
To complement the brassy chargers, I chose gold flatware.
Glassware is Mikasa’s Park Lane, a versatile choice, because these can be
dressed up or down depending upon the occasion.
If you are still fortunate enough to have your dad in your life, give him a hug
for me, and tell him how very much he is appreciated.
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This post
is linked to: Tablescape
Thursday
Asparagus Martini
