Spring Girlfriend Luncheon

It is a beautiful spring day! Bright sunshine, pretty blooming flowers, birds singing and moderate temperatures make us happy! It is a perfect day for a girlfriend luncheon!

I love people, beautiful flowers, pretty dishes, and great food so a spring luncheon is right up my alley. What is better than getting together with friends and eating and chatting for hours?

There is always something to talk about with all my girlfriends which includes you, my blogging friends. Sit down and let's enjoy a relaxed lunch.

Flowers are my passion and I am happy to have fresh picked camellias and azaleas from my garden for the centerpiece. I bought one bunch of flowers from the grocery store to add some yellow to the arrangement. 

The footed container for the centerpiece is actually a casserole dish and caddy that was the ideal size and texture.

A luncheon for four in an intimate home environment with no distractions can be very relaxed. A small number of guests gives each person time to share and enjoy each other. No cell phones allowed!

The delicate vases of fushia, yellow and blue flowers with scrolls of gold trim and verge is such a feminine pattern perfect for our luncheon today. 

The china is vintage american made from the 1930's called Lamberton Ivory in the Dorothea pattern. 

I set the table before I planned the menu and the dessert fork is in the wrong place. There are some other mistakes in etiquette but I'll not embarrass myself by pointing them out. 

 This tablecloth began my color scheme for this tablescape. I love the  damask shamrock design.

  

The ivory coffee set with gold trim is Eschenbach made in Bavaria. Vintage scalloped brass tray is from China.

 Lemon creme cake is for dessert.  Our main course is an orzo salad with shrimp, 

 cherry tomatoes and olives, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, and homemade yeast rolls.

To pick up the fushia flowers in the china I added fushia azaleas in the centerpiece. Also shown above the yellow roses are my white with a slight pink tint camellia called Julia France. Dusty miller adds additional texture and repeats the white color.

Each place setting has it's own pink perfection camellia blossom in a tiny vase.  The individual candlewick salt cellars and salt spoons were collected over several years.

"The beautiful spring came; and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." 

Harriet Ann Jacobs

Thank you for joining me today for a spring luncheon. I hope you will be inspired to host a girlfriend luncheon soon. I cherish my friendships and enjoy setting a beautiful table to entertain. Please continue the bloghop with bloggers listed below.

MondayEveryday Living | Home is Where The Boat Is | Hunt and Host | Up To Date Interiors
Salvage Sister & Mister

TuesdayLife and Linda | My Kentucky Living | Etched in Colloquy | Living With Thanksgiving
Charleston Crafted | The Bajan Texan

WednesdaySweet Sensations | Belle Bleu Interiors | Our Crafty Mom
Fjolla’s Table | Bluesky Kitchen | A Casa di Bianca

ThursdayPanoply  | PMQ for Two | The Robin’s Nest
Dining Delight | Celebrate & Decorate

FridaySimple Nature Decor | Rosemary & Thyme | Cook, Bake, Love
From My Carolina Home |  The Painted Apron 

Joining:Metamorphosis Monday   Botanic Bleu  Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday  Share Your Style Party  Thoughts of Home  Foodie Friday  Feathered Nest Friday  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country, Sunday's At Home

A Little Romance

Romance is in the air today! Welcome to a "Romantic Table for Two" Blog Hop sponsored by Chloe Crabtree of Celebrate and Decorate. I am honored to be a part of many talented bloggers participating in this blog hop. At the end of this post you will find links to visit all the other blogs posting Monday through Thursday of this week.

Fall Tablescape

 While exploring an antique shop in Montgomery, Alabama, I was smitten with this fall tablescape on a wonderful farm table with great chairs.

 Lovely majolica plates on faux wooden chargers. I think the plates are new and affordable. 

I love the green plates and bowls and the shape of the chargers. Wooden candlesticks, paisley napkins and Tuscan pottery are perfect for a fall tablescape.

I recognize the leopard pumpkins from Hobby Lobby. The vase is pretty and looks great on the long farm table. I snapped these pics with my cell phone quickly because I thought the table was striking and it would be fun to share on my blog.

That same day I saw these succulent wreaths which would be easy to make. Do you snap pics on your cell and never use them like I do? Now, it's a year later!  

Linking to : Metamorphosis Monday, Show and Share,The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Enchanting Rose, Wow Us , Share your Style Party, Tablescape Thursday, Thoughts of Home,Feathered Nest Friday, Home Sweet Home, Foodie Friday,Dishing It and Digging ,Your Inspired Design,Celebrate and Decorate, Share It One More Time

A Summertime Alfresco Evening

Hello, and welcome to the Alfresco Tablescape Blog Hop sponsored by Chloe Crabtree @ Celebrate and Decorate blog.
Join me for a summertime alfresco evening here in the deep south with a table set for two. I'm in my garden nestled under the shade of the trees enjoying a nice breeze perfect for alfresco dining for my husband and me.

Hydrangeas, my favorite flower, fill a vintage McCoy pot as a centerpiece along with green nadina berries.  
The different hues of hydrangeas inspired my centerpiece and table elements. At this time of the year, the colors of hydrangeas change from blue or pink to lovely shades of blue-green and smoky purple.

Setting a table surrounded by the beauty of God's creation stirs up so many memories for me. 

It's getting close to our anniversary and I'm feeling a little romance in this setting.

 The green hydrangeas on the bush in the background were all blue just weeks before. 

Dining in the freshness of the open air is so pleasant.

The phlox is blooming and butterflies are lazily flitting from flower to flower. Summer flowers make us happy because summer evokes pleasant memories 

of family vacations and a more laid back atmosphere. We want to get outside and enjoy nature.

Summer shades of green in the flowers and garden foliage inspired me to chose green Paula Deen plates for my alfresco tablescape. A floral napkin print with several colors worked well with purple stemware and since butterflies are everywhere in my garden I was reminded to use the butterfly napkin rings purchased on a wonderful trip with my husband to Provence.

Colors evoke moods or feelings and the ambience of the outdoors calms and relaxes.

Are you feeling relaxed and tranquil? It's time to escape the noise of the T.V. and pull of the computer and focus on your dining companions.

Can you smell the flowers and even the fresh clipped rosemary in the tiny votives? Are you getting hungry?

Our menu:
Grilled salmon (my husband's speciality) with lemon-dill sauce 
Roasted asparagus
Tossed green salad
Lemon icebox pie with graham cracker crust

I've enjoyed sharing my Alfresco Tablescape with you today as part of the Alfresco Tablescape Blog Hop. View other alfresco tables here and here. Join all the other fabulous tablescapers all week. Links are given below.

MONDAYStarfish Cottage | Knock it Off Kim | Life and Linda | Southern Hospitality | Everyday LivingTUESDAYMy Kentucky Living | DesignThusiasm | Simple Nature Decor  | Living With ThanksgivingWednesday
Red Cottage Chronicles  | The Little Yellow Corner Store | Ramblings of a Southern Girl
CoziNest  | Love of HomeThursdayPanoply | Flourish & Knot | The Painted Apron | Dining Delight
FridayB. Lovely Events | Lolly Jane | A Toile Tale | Bluesky Kitchen | Rattlebridge Farm

Linking to : Metamorphosis Monday, Show and Share,The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Enchanting Rose, Wow Us , Share your Style Party, Tablescape Thursday, Thoughts of Home,Feathered Nest Friday, Home Sweet Home, Foodie Friday,Dishing It and Digging ,Your Inspired Design,Celebrate and Decorate, Share It One More Time

A Summer Luncheon

 High school classmates gathered in my home recently for a summer luncheon. Everyone brought a dish and we enjoyed a delicious meal together and great fellowship.

 I am so thankful my hydrangeas bloomed this year. These lush new blooms take my breath away. 

 The flower colors inspired me to use my purple stemware and blue and white pottery dishes. You can view another tablescape with these dishes and stemware here. I usually take many more shots of the table but I was quite busy with the flower arranging not just for the table but throughout the house.

This is my favorite time of year to entertain when I can cut flowers from my garden and fill the house with arrangements.

Three square vases full of blooms in varying shades sitting on mirrored tiles were the centerpiece. 

I had a great time making seven arrangements. It has been such a blessing to me to have blooms  to cut this year in my garden since it has been slim pickins the last few years.

 A simple white pitcher filled with blue hydrangeas on the  kitchen island. 

Small arrangement in a mason jar.

 The aqua flowers on the tole tray were the inspiration for using the aqua mason jar as a vase on the kitchen buffet.

 Guest bathroom with shades of pink and lavender.

The master bath rated an arrangement too.
 Are you doing any summer entertaining? Do you like to make flower arrangements? Hydrangeas make it easy.

Nothing like a pot luck meal!

I am thankful for these high school friends.



Linking to : Metamorphosis Monday, Show and Share,The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Enchanting Rose, Wow Us , Share your Style Party, Tablescape Thursday, Thoughts of Home,Feathered Nest Friday, Home Sweet Home, Foodie Friday,Dishing It and Digging