Happy Birthday, Elaine!

If you're following my blog, you probably know by now that I'm lucky to run in a fabulous pack of fellow tabletop devotees known as The Divas. Today is Diva Elaine's birthday, and I'm sending her greetings with this vintage lobster and crab tablecloth. Happy Birthday, Elaine!





Our friendship started over a shared quest for the Wilendur lobster tablecloth. I think the cloth I'm using today was inspired by the Wilendur textile. It has a slightly Asian feel to it, so I'm wondering if it is a Japanese interpretation of the Wilendur original. I purchased it from an ebay seller in England, and it came with these interesting silk circular napkins.





I found the napkin rings last week in Newport, Rhode Island. I just can't resist beachy tabletop accessories!









I tried a few shots in the Blue Hour.







Next time I'll start shooting in the first five minutes of the hour rather than the last few seconds! Let's turn the lights back on...







The placesetting features vintage Riviera deep plates on gray Harlequin luncheon plates with vintage Oneida Deauville silver plate flatware. The glasses are contemporary Villeroy & Boch Boston tumblers.











I hope you have a wonderful birthday, E! S&F send their greetings as well.

Summer Fruits

Last night I hosted a small supper for my Junior League council. I used a vintage Wilendur tablecloth for a summer fruit theme. This tablecloth was one of my first purchases when I started collecting vintage linens. I found it in an antique store in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia in February 2009 while driving back from a trip to Georgia. It's one of my very favorite cloths, and I was thrilled to use it to host this wonderful group of women!









The placesettings featured Fiesta dinnerware, Oneida Deauville flatware and Villeroy & Boch Boston tumblers.







I was especially pleased to use flowers from my garden for the centerpiece. The hydrangeas and yarrow are at their peak this week.





The vintage Bakelite napkin rings were a bit hit.





On the menu~garlic shrimp and grits, mixed greens with pecans and champagne vinagrette, buttermilk biscuits and lemon curd pound cake.

This Week In My Garden: June 21

Welcome Summer!

























I'm joining the garden party at The Little Round Table...do come and visit all the lovely blooms to mark this Summer Solstice!

Tabletop Greetings from Newport 2011

I do love to take a few tabletop accessories on vacation to brighten up the hotel room.









Hall sea shells and Cardinal shrimp boats are perfect for some after-swim snacks. The vintage tablecloth features sailboats, stars and lighthouses.







Newport is perfect for shopping for beachy tabletop accessories. I love these little cocktail forks! You can read more about Maurice Milleur on his web site. Three cheers for American made tableware!









We had a wonderful time on our trip, and I hope you enjoy your summer travels as well. You can see last year's vacation 'scape here. I'm sharing our adventure for Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper.