Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One

I was amazed at this wonderful tablescape 

Alycia created for 

her friends on the subject of

Breast Cancer Awareness.  

I was so impressed with it I wanted

to post a link to her page! 

Click on this link above the picture

Breast Cancer Luncheon 

 Drop on by and check out her tablescape and leave a comment.

Late to the gate!

 Yes these morning glories are late to the

gate!  Now it will be  race before the frost hits

to produce more blooms!

They aren't much to brag about but I took a 

few pictures. 

On the right side I also have a 

Sweet Autumn Clematis planted which has a 

bunch of blooms at the top that are 

just waking up too!  

 Last year I had 1/3rd the amount of vines of 

the morning glories, but 5 times the amount 

of flowers...and they should be blue not pink!  

I think I should have given them a quick

fertilizing!

 I've let the vines run their own course and 

haven't been trimming them.   Usually I 

keep it more trimmed but this year I 

thought I would see how it would look if I 

let it be more natural.

Last weekend the morning sun was shining

in and out of the trees and I watched

it for about a half hour while having 

my morning coffee and finally decided

to snap a few pictures.

I set this 3 ft. tall dove statue by the hostas 

and hydrangeas.  By August the Limelight's 

had hidden it pretty well.  I guess I'll

find another spot for it next year.

A few more roses were blooming so I cut

them and made an arrangement with some 

hydrangeas.  I cut some of the spiky leaves 

from the Cordyline spike plant and stuck 

them in there for some added interest.

That's a wrap for this week!

Hope you are having a good one and will have a great weekend!

I'm linking with Fishtail Cottage-Floral Thursdays

Rosy endings....

I had some roses still blooming so I decided I had to cut some and enjoy this last bit of summers offerings.

Since they are pink it was a little tricky working them into a fall arrangement.

I still have hydrangeas so I cut a few of them and some stems with leaves for bulk and color.

I cut some leaves of the cordyline spike plants that I have in some containers outside hoping to add a little drama to the arrangement.





I tried to help create more fall tones by using my sunflower vase and my amber stemware.

I did not visualize these little bowls as ever going with my April Cornell placemats. I found the placemats on mark down last spring and the bowls late last winter.  I also was pleased because it helped carry the floral theme from the arrangement.

The table cloth is a ivory colored burlap piece I picked up at Pottery Barn.  I liked the texture for this setting and the napkins I recently acquired had a nice woven texture to them too!

I decided to keep the napkin fold simple and it repeats the straight lines of the bowl and the placemat.  The Mikasa Italian Countryside dishes came in handy again and the new ivory flatware did too!

Since it's a table for two and informal I kept it simple.

My daughter gave me this little Waterford votive

and it makes a nice accent.  I strung the

plastic beads around to add a little color and give it a touch of glam!

 I made a quick little cake
 (some people call them a dump cakes)

It has cherries on the bottom, cake mix, chopped pecans
 and butter.

 I know my husband will be going back for seconds!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the visit.

I'm joining Susan at Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

for her weekly tabletop party!

Brr....

Well tonight we are under a "hard freeze" warning.  I'm hoping it won't make it quite that low, but it seems very likely.  There was a chill in the air today, definitely a jacket day!  I think the high was 53. 

Yesterday I started cutting Hydrangeas because of this freeze warning.  I found a delphinium blooming a 2nd time out front.  I brought it in and added it to my Limelight Hydrangeas....this was a little vignette I created.  

I got a little aggressive and cut a lot of these Endless Summer Hydrangeas.  Their colors have started to fade already but they are prime to bring in and dry,  so I treated myself to a large bouquet. 

 It's hard to realize their size in these pictures, but the width on this bouquet is 27"!

This is the other side...still some pinks showing up!

I'm guessing there are at least 40 in this bunch!

So now if we get this hard freeze the fall colors will come on quickly.

It's such a beautiful time of the year.

In fact it's time for some apple cider!

Yum!

Of course it will warm up again here it always does!

How's your weather doing in your area?

 

Plum Chicken

My inspiration for this tablescape was this plum colored tablecloth and my new chicken statue.

I was inspired by the colors in this tablecloth-the deep plum background, the olive green which works well in my home, a pinch of clay white, turquoise, golds and rusts!  It had all the right fall ingredients!

I found these new clay white dishes at Cracker Barrel on clearance.  I was lucky enough to get 6 dinner plates. 

I used my Pier 1 Import salad plates to layer with and the ivory handled flatware is from Horchow called Sophia.

And my gold colored napkins seemed to be the best pick to unify the look!

 These are the only two bread and butter plates they had left- I just loved the designs on these.

I found the candle votives at Pottery Barn and since they were done with the chicken wire I had to have them!  Last year I purchased a few pieces from the Pottery Barn Chicken Wire group, so I knew these were mine the minute I saw them!

I took apart a silk sunflower and used them to line the bottom of the glass votive inside the chicken wire.  The green color of the votive seemed to be disappearing on the dark tablecloth so I decided they needed something to make them pop!

This chicken is from One King's Lane.  I thought it was unique and reasonably priced.  If you've never heard of them go to their web site (you have to create an online user account to view their products- but there is no fee involved) 

(If you use my E-mail as a referral I will be given a one time credit from them for a future purchase-and you can do the same for yourself with anyone else that uses you as a referral)

*See my e-mail at the bottom of this post.

Early evening is settling in and I have lit the candles.

The green pressed glass dessert pieces were something I found on line at Dillards.  They reminded me of glassware from the early 70's and I liked the swirly vine design they have.

The chicken was elevated on a square woven basket and I added a little embellishment with some silk sunflowers.

I was intrigued with the textural design on the plates and the chicken wire and how well they worked together! 

My birds eye view of the table

To further this theme I've chosen a recipe at Epicurious

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CHICKEN-IN-PLUM-SAUCE-50120688

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the elements of my tablescape!

I will be joining Susan at  

Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursdays 160th

Please check out all the other tablescapes that are a part of this linky party!

* My E-mail for referral DizLiz57@aol.com 

@ One King's Lane

Also check out this creative project over at
Haverford House

Mmm...good apple pie!

Mmm...good apple pie! 

We had a stay at home Labor Day weekend all by our selves...but I went ahead and cooked and baked as though there were a bunch of us and we ate well!  

For Labor Day, I made Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Sliced Cucumbers with Ranch Dressing, and we had NY Strip steaks !  

I also made dessert .

 These little hand sized pies turned out to be a hit.  I'm going to work on making more and improve the baking temperature and timing. 

Funny thing they send you the mold for these but no instructions for how long too bake the little pies!

 I went looking for help and ended up on the Williams- Sonoma website and it looks like I they should be baked at 400 degrees for 20 min.  

I mixed my sugar, flour and apple pie spice together in a bowl.  I cut up three Granny Smith Apples into small pieces and libereally tossed them with the sugar mix.  Then I spooned the prepared apples into the pie mold and put small chunks of butter on top.  Then you put the top layer on and seal it with the ridged edge of the pie mold.  I tried using the same baking temp and time that I used for my Apple Pie (450) for 10 min. (instead of 15) then I lowered it to 350 for 30 min.  

They darkened a bit too much, but they were tasty none the less!  They also suggest basting the pastry with egg wash and sprinkling them with sanding sugar or large granular sugar.  I didn't do that because I didn't have that kind of sugar on hand.

I also over filled them a tad so they cracked at the center. 

You are only going to get about 4 of these 2 part cut outs from one normal sized pie dough recipe.

I actually bought mine from Amazon because they had three molds I was interested in, but Williams Sonoma

has a little video you can watch and learn how to use the mold.

Pocket Pie Mold

There are recipes for Cherry Pie, Peach Pie and even Pot Pies. 

Well, I hope your Labor Day Weekend was enjoyable, one way or another!

 

September

 September always meant back to 

school to me.  

In Michigan we've wavered between 

starting school the last week of August 

or just after Labor Day in September.  

They finally decided unanimously to 

stick with after Labor Day.

Do you remember the Dick and Jane books? 

I started my school years with these!  

After researching I learned they started these in the 1930's and they went through the 1970's

(Copied from Wikipedia)

The books relied on the whole word or sight word reading method, (not to be confused with whole language) and repetition, using phrases like, "Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny Jane," but they did not totally ignore phonics

 Ah, the good ole' days!

 I think our value systems have changed a lot- don't you!

I hope you all enjoy this Labor Day weekend and find a way to relax and not "labor" too much!

I leave you with this lovely poem~

~  Helen Hunt Jackson, September

By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer.