Wednesday, February 23, 2011

First Outdoor Tablescape, 2011

The weather here has been perfect, sunny and in the 70's, for almost 3 weeks now. I have been trying to clear the leaves out of the yard but after 8 big garbage full and not even showing any dent , I decided to hire a yard boy who is coming today to finish the job. Our daffodils, paper whites, camelias and rosemary are blooming and I see little leaves starting to pop out of the perennials. This inspired me to do a tablescape outside on the pool deck.


I am joining the ever gracious hostess for Tablescape Thursday, Susan. If you want to get inspired, go visit her at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
I am also linking with Michael, aka, Gollum at http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/ Everytime I want to try a new recipe, I visit her site. And then I find myself lingering longer because her photos are so fabulous and her decorating skills are amazing!

I picked the table on the deck that is closest to the kitchen. Easier for me to serve the food there.
You might have seen these plates displayed in the kitchen cabinet. I finally got to use them. I thought the butterflies would be perfect for an outdoor setting.

I set the table for 2, just for me and John.




I gathered a few plants and candles and took my 2 garden figures from the porch and created a centerpiece. I bought or rather snatched the figures from Vanna on Ebay. I say snatched because I got them for free. Both arrived with broken ankles, not Vanna's fault (because they were packed very well) but the delivery men weren't very careful. So she gave me a full refund and got her money back from the insurance company. She advised me to glue the legs with Elmer's wood glue and to just keep them and that's what I did. In spite of the fractured legs, I just love them and they are a good addition to the garden. I usually keep them by the fountain on the porch.

This was last Saturday and John decided to invite the part time anaesthesiologist, who is from out of town and is staying in a hotel. He must have felt guilty putting him to work for an emergency surgery late on a weekend. So, I quickly added another place setting.

I started cooking while they were working in the OR, working as fast as I can thinking I only had an hour and a half to prepare.

I bought the green straw placemats at TJ Maxx when I visited my daughter in Florida a few weeks ago. They were only 99 cents each. I love the grass green color.



I put on the rice steamer and thawed out the red snapper in the microwave oven.
I served the rice in this floral lidded dish.

I prepared a sweet and sour sauce and poured it over the fried fish. Then I mixed some salad greens for a Caesar salad.

and then I waited and waited and waited and nobody came. I finally called hubby and he said the patient needed extra care and the anaesthesiologist had to watch him for another half an hour more. He could come home but he had no ride since I dropped him off at the hospital earlier, so he would just wait and ride with him.

The pool water color changes from green to blue and then to red. My favorite color is the blue one.

The fish was served in a fish shaped dish.
I was expecting them to be home by 7 PM but they did not get here till 9 PM so we ate really late. Although bugs aren't around yet, I had to cover the food, just in case. We originally planned to watch a DVD after dinner but we had to skip it cause it got so late after we ate and chatted outside and our guest had to get up early for 2 cases the following morning.
One thing good about eating late was that we were all hungry so I did not have anything to store in the fridge, for there was no leftover. I served cookies for dessert because I thought I did not have enough time to make a special one. We all enjoyed the outdoor dinner and conversation regardless of how late it was.
Bumble bee napkin ring and Napoleon bee flatware.

I only have 2 bee rings so I used a lady bug for the third setting.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my outdoor tablescape as much as I enjoyed setting it up. Thanks a lot for coming and thanks to Susan and Michael for graciously hosting.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful Christine.

I can't wait to set the table outdoors here. Should build a fire in the fireplace and go ahead and have a meal on the back porch!

Marlis said...

Christine, you are the ultimate hostess. The table looks wonderful and I've envious of the glorious weather you are having. Ours isn't shabby, but still. Our yard guy is coming this sunday to get the remainder of the leaves. I love those plates oh wow. and what a deal you got on the figures. They are really nice. I'm glad you were able to keep them.

Donna@Conghaile Cottage said...

OMG, I am SO ENVIOUS of all that green AND to be sharing it with the beautiful outdoors! Your table is beautiful... AND look at that pool! AHHH! So Perfect a setting...
Have a wonderful week,
Hugs to you,
Donna

lvroftiques said...

Oh Christine what a beautiful setting for what turned out to be a late night dinner! Those buggy napkin rings are adorable! And those "free" statues look wonderful with your tablescape! I don't know if you saw this already but Delores of Vignette Designs featured a shop that she loved, and in the second picture down you can see the same french lady...I bet she wasn't free either! LOL! http://vignettedesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/visit-to-yankee-girl-antiques-in-marin.html
And the pool!!! Oh my goodness how romantic!! Umm but I'm more than a little jealous (yet again so it's noithing new *winks*) of your weather!! It's snowing here...NOOOOOO! Vanna

Amy said...

So beautiful and romantic! I love the night time version as much as the day time one! :) What a lovely candle light dinner!

Amy
http://utry.it

Glenda/MidSouth said...

What a pretty Spring table, and dinner sounds yummy. Sorry your statues got broken, but sounds like it worked out for everyone.
Suppose to be 70 tomorrow, but bad weather coming in tomorrow evening.

The Tablescaper said...

Chritine:

It sounds like you pulled off a beautiful meal to match the beautiful table - in record time! Only to sit and wait, but it did you give you time to take the photos for this lovely post.

- The Tablescaper

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

Very pretty! I love your pretty dishes and the green glasses! I missed our warm weather these past few days because I was in Chicago where it was freezing!!! Can't wait til it warms up again!

PAINTORDIG.blogspot.com said...

What a fabulous table. I know it was very relaxing for John and his guest after their hard work. I love the green placemats also.Those butterfly dishes are to die for!

Marigene said...

I ♥♥♥ all the green, I especially like the placemats and stemware.

lvroftiques said...

Wasn't that shop cool?? I tried so hard to see a price! And in answer to your question I believe it's normandy lace. Vanna

Anonymous said...

Christine I am loving this tablescape and a bit envious - especially that you already get to entertain outdoors!!! Had a friend over tonight but no outside entertainment here for a while unless we want to dress like Eskimos! Actually it has warmed up a tad during the day for which I am grateful!

Love the napkin rings- especially the bee one!! So cute!

bee blessed
mary

Kathleen said...

Well I will just ignore the fact that you have good weather while we have snow! :)
I love those mats, great for St Pat's Day and those glasses too!
I am glad you and the docs had a good meal, and they got to relax.

Unknown said...

I just adore those butterfly plates. The fish looks amazing and I'm feeling ya with your leaf dilemma. We bagged 28 lawn bags and loaded two large tarps full of leaves to the street and they're still flying around the yard!

Entertaining Women said...

I really like the way that you mixed a variety of greens...just like in nature. Such a blessing for you to be able to serve dinner al fresco. I'm guessing that as a doctor's wife, you are used to working on an extremely flexible schedule. The butterfly plates are lovely, and everything looked beautiful. Thank y ou for sharing your charming design. Cherry Kay

The Decorative Dreamer said...

Oh, your tablescape has me hoping for spring! Very pretty butterfly plates! I cannot wait for the warmer weather to arrive.

Anonymous said...

OH! CHRISTINE!! OUTSIDE!!..I love this!..your setting is soooo "SPRING". The little "bee" napkin rings and the "butterfly plates" are my favorites. This looks incredible by the(color changing) pool!
And the food looks delish!
~Jo
LazyonLoblolly

Atticmag said...

Christine, your gorgeous outdoor scape is making me crazy. It's 25 degrees here. Still wearing boots and layers. Please invite me for a week! I'm a great house guest LOL. Thanks for stopping in to see our majolica. Jane

Tricia said...

Christine, how fun to see your first outdoor tablescape of 2011! It really made me want to do an outdoor one soon, too. The butterfly plates are perfect with those pretty green placemats. Love the bees on the napkin rings!

Marie said...

Oh my goodness Christine! What a terrific gorgeous spring table setting. Love the butterfly plates and the bee napkin rings. All very pretty as always and as usual, your food looks so delish!
-marie

Barbara said...

Oh, how wonderful to see your first outdoor table for this year. I just love the butterfly plates. They are so pretty. We are ready to eat outside again but we had such severe frosts this year, all I see is all the work to be done!

Allison Shops said...

I came over after reading your comment on my bamboo post. I can see why JaneF was asking for an invite! Not that I wouldn't enjoy coming for a visit as well. Be sure to see her post on Majolica pieces.

Allison
Atticmag

Lynn said...

SO pretty! You made me miss my pool in Southern CA for the first time since moving up here 6 years ago!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Love those butterfly dishes, and oh, that serving bowl is so pretty. What cute napkin rings! laurie

Lynn said...

How nice for the weather to be warm enough to eat outside already Christine! Everything looks great and I think the pool lights are really fun:@)

Alycia Nichols said...

Ahhhh, the life of a doctor's wife. I know it well! I have ended up eating many dinners alone or at a very late hour...or serving WAY overcooked dishes! But we love them so much that we don't complain. We just warm up the food and truck on! :-) Beautiful table! I love the 3-D plates!!! Why, oh why must you torture me in this way??!? We are digging out from the 5" of snow and sleet that fell upon our fair city last night. Spring is still quite a distance away from us in the Midwest, I'm afraid! :-( Have a wonderful weekend!

Sue said...

Oh those butterfly plates are gorgeous! What a beautiful setting for your late supper- your guest must have been so grateful to share your hospitality! :-)

Debby@Just Breathe said...

So pretty, it is screaming SPRING!

Janay said...

Hello Christine,,, it's nice to know there are flowers blooming somewhere; certainly not in NH at this time!:*) I do love, love, love your butterfly plates!!! And those bumblebee napkin rings are adorable.
And what a beautiful poolside view!

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