Saturday, April 30, 2011

A Garden Setting

Just had to show you this beautiful hosta.  The area beside our house and along the sidewalk to the back gets very little sun, so we transplanted a couple of hosta plants to that area.  They are loving it there, and have gotten huge.
It is beginning to shoot up!

Starting to open up!

It might be hard to grasp how big this is by looking at the picture, so hope these pictures help...

This decorative garden stone weighs a ton, so I have to get help to move it.

It's under there somewhere...


The color is beautiful...

Just a few more shots of how Spring looked a week or so ago.  I'm not the world's best photographer, but here goes!





See you soon!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A Setting for Motivation

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."  Henry Drummond.  

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.  Audrey Hepburn
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, It is the only thing that ever has.  Margaret Mead
“All the really valuable things you own are things you can't photograph.  Unknown

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.  George Bernard Shaw

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.”  Vernon Law

"It isn't the big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones."  Jean Webster

"To love what you do and feel that it matters--how could anything be more fun?"  Katherine Graham

"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us."  Winston Churchill

"The first wealth is health."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work.  Unknown

“There is no failure. Only feedback.  Unknown

“Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right.  Henry Ford
“Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way.  Yogi Desai

“Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
Thanks for visiting today!  Hope you enjoyed these motivational quotes.  Did you notice that there were two centerpieces on the table?  One was prepared with white azaleas, and white spider mums, and the second with pink azaleas and dogwood (even though the dogwood flopped after a small amount of time).  I used mini vases of pink carnations and white azaleas on the first table also.  Hope you had a wonderful Easter, and I am looking forward to spending some time visiting with you! 

China--Noritake Veranda
Crystal iced beverages--vintage, not sure of the pattern
Crystal wines--Gorham Crown Point
Mirrored Chargers--Tuesday Morning
Crystal baskets--vintage (one was my Mom's)
Crystal candleholders--Candlewick, vintage
Silverplate--Baroque by Godinger
White bunny and bird vase--Sadek?


 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Beach View

We've been away for a week at the beach, for a bit of r & r!  I hope to be back to visit with you next week!  Until then, here is the view from our condo!
See you soon!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A Perfect Setting for Bunnies

Spring break is here!  As the band The Chairman of the Board says, "I'm so glad when it's Easter weekend, because I know it won't be long until summer begins, I've got BEACH FEVER"!  Well, I'm not sure if you've heard of that band or not, but when we were young, we were definitely groupies.  My older brother sort of turned us on to the band, and we fell in love.  Their energy was addictive, and everything about them made you feel good.  The band was led by General Norman Johnson, and the other two of the trio were Danny Woods and Ken Knox.  They performed what we called Carolina Beach Music, not to be confused with the music of The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean.  They were more rhythm and blues and a distinct sound that originated around the beaches of Carolina and Raleigh. 

The General died recently of lung cancer, and we felt a tremendous loss.  We hadn't seen them much as of late, because we were caught up with raising our children, work, and everyday life.  But when we reflected back to our youth, and remembered the fun times we had listening and dancing to this great band, we couldn't help but feel a great loss.  Some of their greatest hits included "Give me just a little more time", "Pay it to the Piper", and "You've got me dangling on a string".  The General won a grammy for writing the song "Patches", performed by Clarence Carter.  But one of his greatest works and the one he was the most proud of was called "King of Kings".  If you get the chance, listen and read about this talented man.

Ok, so what does this have to do with tablescapes??  Not exactly sure, but thinking of Easter and the most important of all religious holidays, I couldn't help but remember this compassionate man who shared his wonderful talent with me.

Bunnies and Easter eggs are the stars for today!

Fun egg-shaped tulip plates (Home Goods) sit atop white Gibson Marquis dishes.  Round blue placemats take the place of chargers.  Fairly simple silverware, by Towle, finish off the place setting.

Miss Bunny is decked out today and watches over her vintage basket filled with Easter eggs.  Miniature bunnies peer out from a pink lantern (Tuesday Morning.)

Mr. Bunny isn't showing up empty handed.  He is coming to the party with gifts in hand! 


A friendly little bunny waves to us from this green lantern, purchased at Tuesday Morning.

A vintage vase holds white azaleas.

And in the center, white bunnies play ring around the rosie!

Can't forget the napkins, held by little bunny napkin rings. 

The crocheted doily was made by my Mother.

Pink stems are Noritake.





Time to say goodnight.  Thanks for visiting A Perfect Setting, hope to hear from you soon!  We are headed down to Myrtle Beach for a week while our son spends his spring break in Sweden.  Maybe we will hear some good beach music while we are there.  We will be thinking of our friend, General Johnson and wishing we could give him just a little more time...

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Windy Perfect Setting

Spring has finally made its way to Virginia, yipppeee!!  When the temperature hit 80, I decided to set my table outside, excited for the warm weather and the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air.  Little did I know that the wind was 35 mph!!  That didn't stop me, but it was a challenge, to say the least.  More on that later.  I did enjoy the warm temperatures and being outdoors! 

I moved one of my round tables over to our little outdoor fireplace.  Normally, we have a sette, and a couple of chairs here, and in the summer, a tent.  Today it is functioning as a little dining area, close to the waterfall.
I used a white round cloth with a sheer overlay, mounds of pink tulle in the middle, with a little guy holding a green gazing ball.


I found these green chargers at a thrift store.  The china is Garden Botanical by Gracie china.  Each plate has a different flower.

The pink stems are Noritake.  Did you notice the little bee on the water glasses?

I had this great idea to add color to the napkins by placing little flowers under the napkin ring.  With the combination of wind and heat, the flowers didn't hold up so well.  But it looked cute for a minute lol!

Hopefully you don't notice the little specks on this picture, but the wind kept kicking up little pieces of this and that, and I was constantly trying to brush it off before taking the pics, but it kept getting under the sheer, oh well, this might be going in the Blooper file!

Individual vases of pink beauties were placed at each place setting.

The little votives were a Big Lots purchase.

Do you notice the blooper on this picture??  Or should I say blooper(s)!


I was afraid to use candles because of all the wind, so I used white lights and led lights for the votives.


A different angle...

The sound of the waterfall is relaxing and soothing...


Thanks for visiting with me and I always appreciate hearing from you!!  Oh yea, if you go back to the blooper picture, one of the napkins was placed on top of the plate instead of beside it.  I did this while brushing off debris.  Also I broke one of the votives, so one's missing!!  So still striving for that Perfect Setting lol!!