Olla-Podrida: spring tablesetting

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Mr. McGregor's Garden Tablescape

For someone who has never claimed to have much by way of Easter decor, this past month I ended up setting three different Easter tables.

The last one I set, and had planned to use Easter Sunday, remained unfinished because that was when I was stricken with the flu.

As I was taking it down, I decided that I really didn't want to. The bunny plates were new this year, and I wanted to use them.

Why, I asked myself, are bunny plates only appropriate at Easter? Why can't they be appropriate in spring and summer? Aren’t those bunnies usually around, chewing their way through my hostas during these two seasons?

So, I took all of the Easter items off of the table, and started anew, with the bunny plates as a focus.

I gathered up some of my favorite things, and adorned my little three-tier wooden tray (That I have had for about 30 years, long before the three-tier trays were popular.), tucking them here and there among greenery and grapes, and set the table with vibrant turquoise and greens.

As I sat there and looked at it, the whimsical little bunny face (You just know this little guy is up to something, as bunnies tend to be.) reminded me of Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor's garden. So I decided to call this Mr. McGregor's Garden Tablescape. It suits, I think.

Because I had pretty dinner plates, I didn't want to do any plate layering.

But, because I do like layering in a table setting, I decided that instead of layering plates, I would layer placements.

The placemats are from Pier 1 as are the rustic whitewashed chargers.

Keep this in mind should you have pretty plates that you don't want to cover up. Table settings can look just as beautiful with layered placemats as they can with layered plates.

I decided to use my new little corn cups. I have gone crazy over the majolica corn dishes!

The leaf tray, on which the sugar and cream sit, is the same one that served as the base for the little bunny sauce dish that I used here. Looking at the colors, the bamboo-handled flatware, and the corn dishes made me think of summer. I hope this table gives you a smile, and makes you think of summer as well.

This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story
Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire
Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Tablescape Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things,
Home Sweet Home
Weekend Linky Party
Grace at Home

Coffee and Conversation
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Share Your Style

Family Joy Blog Link Party
Simple Saturday Blog Hop

Share It One More Time
A Bouquet of Talent

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Cabbage Bunny Tablescape

Earlier this week on Facebook, someone posted a link to an article entitled, “Your Kids Don’t Want Their Grandparents’ Stuff.” A lot of people took issue with this, saying that they would be thrilled to have things passed down to them from their grandparents. I'm not sure how many people feel this way. I do, but I'm a different generation than the current one. I am from a generation that followed one that was made up of people who didn't have much, and who didn't save much. These days people have so many things, leaving behind a colossal amount for their bereaved descendants to have to deal with.

I came face-to-face with this when Mr. O-P passed away, and I was left thousands and thousands of books, along with hoards of other things. This taught me a bit of a lesson in that, people who are grieving have enough to deal with, without the added burden of dispersing someone else's stuff. Now this is not to say that a lot of people wouldn't be thrilled to have things left behind by their parents and grandparents. My boys have already told me things of mine that they would cherish having. That pleases me. But I've also told them to discard my things with reckless abandon should they not want it. Donate! Gift! Consign! Sell! Don’t be sentimental about it. Don't feel guilty about it. Pass it along to someone who will love it as much as I did. I want them to have what they want, and nothing more. What I love, may not be what they love, and they shouldn't be stuck with it.

Why am I mentioning this? Because as I sat at this table today, I was thinking about the various components of this table setting, and the meaning that they have for me.

The candlesticks Jim gave to me early in our marriage. I’d spotted them in an antique store when we were out shopping one day, and immediately fell in love. I'm not sure why, because generally they're not my style, but I was crazy about them, and crazier still when they became mine.

The little juice glasses on this table have a bit of a provenance. They came to me from my mother, but they came to her from her childhood best friend, Shirley, who was also Maid of Honor at her and dad’s wedding. They are a set of six, and match a little darling little pressed glass carafe. Shirley long knew that she wouldn't be using them, so decades ago gave them to my mother. I don't think mother ever used them either, so she gave them to me. Naturally, I adore them. So not only is Jim at this table with me, but so is my mother, and her friend, Shirley.

Joining this group is tablescape blogger friend Marigene Purcell, who gifted me with the green charger plates. Isn't it fabulous how one table can have so much meaning? It's things like this that make the table feel special.

The flatware belonged to my mother as well. She gave it to me after she’d given me some yellow chalices that she’d bought at the same time. After she gave me the chalices, she was sorry that she did, because she saw all of the ways in which I used them and figured she could've done the same. So, she decided I might as well have the flatware to match. It gives me a smile every time I pull either of these things out.

The white plates and bunny mugs are new additions this year; the cabbage plates I've had for decades. The green glassware is also new.

This is the first of two Easter tables that I'll be doing this year. Be sure to come back for the next table, that has equal the history as this one.

Wicker placemats - Pier 1 (You can get them here)
Green chargers - gift
White plates – Amelia Blanc by Versailles (You can get them here)
Green leaf salad plates - Williams-Sonoma
Green glassware - Villeroy & Boch
Yellow flatware - Noritake

Bunny mugs – Maxcera (Similar ones are available here)
Bunny Basket - Pier 1

Napkins – Pottery Barn