TABLESCAPE THURSDAY: LUNCH IN PARIS

I am a worrier by nature. I bought a set of six salad/bread plates from an estate sale a while back. And they have sat for a long time. But I have not stopped thinking about them for one second. You see, I wanted to do a tablescape with them, but sometimes the creativity light bulb in my brain just remains unlit. I knew what I didn't want to do. Now, why is that so easy to figure out? Think about it. It is the figuring out exactly what we want to do that is the hard part. And that may be my problem in the world of tablescaping and why I do it so little. God knows I have enough dishes... So I was lamenting to Fidd (Future Interior Design Daughter, who's progress in school I am going to bring you up on later in this post) and she (also known as Emily) said, "Mom, let me do a tablescape with the stupid dishes." To myself, I was thinking, hee hee, that doesn't mean I am going to take pictures of it! So she began to assemble things.

I am joining Susan at Between Naps On the Porch for her event today, so you know that a successful table setting was laid. Fidd does have a lot of creativity. She needs that to make up for a bit of sloppiness, but that is where this blonde control freak person comes in. The problem was, the dishes were black and white and very French. I didn't want to do a black and white tablescape for reasons I don't even know... and due to the unlit light bulb, I didn't have a clue what sort of color combination or type of centerpiece would work. So she got to work. I sat drinking my coffee, averting my eyes every time she looked my way. When she left the room to gather up napkins or glasses, I ran over to the table and thought, oh no, what is she doing??

Another problem with the black and white dishes was making the table look fall~like. I mentioned that to her. "No problem." She replied. I told her not to mix two white plates on a cream color charger. A roll of the eyes. I didn't like the napkin rings. "Get out of the room!"

She came from the craft room/office with this floral arrangement before setting out the gold tinted wine glasses. By now I was ready to hide my camera and disassemble the laptop so I couldn't be forced to blog about this disaster. Then she finished things up and I sat looking, then nodding my head, and then I gave her a big hug. When she said, "I bet everyone is going to say this is your best tablescape ever," that's when the Kodak moment ended.

I admit I fiddled and tweaked. She is too impatient to learn how to fold a napkin or position the silverware correctly (or like perfect soldiers, the way I tend to do it). I switched out the napkin rings and lit a candle. By then she was in the shower, all was forgotten. So here we have it. She did a great job, didn't she? The black and white mixes in well with the white china and off white capiz shell chargers and napkins. She mixed in some gold fall colors with some silver serving dishes. And she tied the dessert/bread plates in with a whimsical touch, a small trifle glass filled with black and white buttons.

These are close-ups of the plates. They look like French combat scenes to me. For anyone that can speak or read French, click on the picture to enlarge, there is some dialogue going on and it could be meaty... The markings on the back are H.B. surrounded in a circle that reads: 1/2 Porcelaine De Choisy~Le~ROI.

One plate has a tiny chip on the edge that can be sanded, otherwise they are in excellent condition. I love them. I am making cabbage rolls for dinner tonight. Should I serve them here? Does cabbage go with black and white?

The chargers and wine glasses are from Pier I. The dinner plates are from HomeGoods. The napkins and rings are from Target. All of the silver is from my thrifting adventures and the faux flowers are from Michael's. The geraniums in the window are from this summer. They are still going strong so I brought them in. Aren't they pretty?

Emily is more than half through with interior design school and getting her degree. She just finished up a grueling semester in which she had two classes, each having her design a hotel lobby and a townhouse, respectively. It is so much more than floor plans. She has to design and plan everything down to the electrical and lighting system. The design school she goes to is year round with 2 week breaks between semesters, so she will complete her degree in less than 4 years. Next year she plans to take a real estate course and get her license and attempt to combine the two fields. I think this is a really smart decision. You go, Fidd!!

Hey...if you enlarge this picture you will see Nina, the parrot, in her white cage off to the right. Probably waiting for the cabbage rolls. You might also see the door to the china closet open wide also. So much for staging. I want to remind you all about the giveaway. Tell your friends! My blog button is on my sidebar if you want it. It's new and I am proud of it, of course. This weekend I am going to the lake after missing 2 weekends in a row. I am going nuts. And I have something big there that I am going to tell you all about when I get back!

Have a great weekend!! :-)