Supper for the Bride-to Be

"First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.

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Wow! It's been quite a while since I've posted. I've missed all of you, and I'm so glad to be back. I am touched by the many of you who have taken the time to contact and check on me. I'm humbled and I thank you. Although I've been unable to edit, post, and publish, I have been able to continue to entertain periodically through my time away. During the last half of July, we hosted a fairly spontaneous dinner party for my niece Catherine. Catherine's wedding was the first weekend of August, in Colorado Springs. A number of her family and family friends were going to be unable to make the trip, so we invited 24 to share an evening of good food and fellowship. For many of our guests, it was the first opportunity to meet Catherine's fiancee.

Given the option, I'll always choose to seat my guests.

This evening, I utilized our dining table....

the games table in the living room...

and the breakfast room table.

The Waverly black and white toile tablecloths...

made it easy...

to create continuity in my design for each table.

Each place setting featured the Caspari rattan charger...

the Wedgwood Countryware dinner plate...

hot pink handled flatware and the Mikasa French Countryside goblet. We knew that only a few of our guests would drink wine or liquor, so we had wine glasses available away from the table.

The hot pink hemstitched dinner napkin, caught with the Coalport Countryware napkin ring added another shot of strong color to the design. For my centerpieces, I chose to stay smack in my comfort zone by using a tureen to anchor the centerpiece on each table...

Mottahedeh "Golden Lion" for the dining table...

Rosenthal "Sansoucci" for the games table...

and Hartley-Leeds Chestnut Bowl for the breakfast room.

Continuing to make it easy on myself, I grabbed the Hobby Lobby black tole jardinieres to host my floral pieces and filled each one with a pre-made bouquet from La Grocery Store...

I've pretty much fallen head over heels for these mid-sized jardinieres...

...you've seen them more than once this summer...

...and watch for them one more time in mid-October.

Do you remember that Maximilian, Napoleon's brother, was the Emperor of Mexico? I decided that he probably served Mexican food on a table that might have looked just like this...so that's what I served, too! It works...right?