Hello and welcome to the Tablescape Thursday blog party. If you are a Cote de Texas reader who is not familiar with blog parties – this is how it works. One blogger will host a party around a very specific theme which other bloggers will then write about. For instance, each week, the popular blog Between Naps On My Porch, hosts a blog party on Thursday centered about beautiful tablescapes. If this is your first blog party – take the time to visit blogs listed here who are each hosting their own Tablescape Thursday – you will be sure to get a host of new ideas for entertaining, either your own family or dinner party guests. By the way, if you are wondering where the blog name Between Naps On My Porch came from – just take a look here! This surely is what all porches should be – comfortable, cozy, and beautiful.
Are you ready for a Cote de Texas Tablescape Thursday Party? Enjoy!
Since it’s not quite scalding summer hot in Houston yet, I thought I would set up the table for lunch here on the courtyard, where I usually blog away at my iron table and chairs from Wisteria.
Everything is so green now, the flowers are at their peak – in a few weeks they will start to get that parched summery look, but for now, May is proving to be the prettiest month on my courtyard. Even more miraculous is the fountain is clean and clear for a change. Once it rains a time or two, the water can turn a little murky. But today it’s crystal clear, so eating by the fountain will be particularly nice and atmospheric.
The pink, fuchsia, and white impatiens were planted over a month ago and they are really filling out.
My favorites though are the caladiums. One summer I had all giant white and green caladiums and each year they get pinker and greener it seems. In another month, the beds will be a riot of tall, thick caladiums – I can’t wait!!!!
One of my favorite spots in my courtyard is this bench with two antique urns on pedestals. The entire vignette is actually my sister Cathy’s, but when she moved to a high rise, I inherited the lot. She is back on terra firma now, but it’s hard to return this to her, although one day, I’m sure it will be back with its rightful owner. A few minutes after I took this picture, the skies opened up and it started pouring. Think about that monsoon scene in the movie “The Year of Living Dangerously” – that’s exactly how it is in Houston. One minute the sun is hot and it’s a beautiful day, the next minute, its raining bucketfuls – not just a little shower, but a hard driving downpour that can deposit inches of water in a short amount of time. Needless to say, I need to change the lunch plans, and quickly.
So, instead of eating on the courtyard, I set up the Tablescape Thursday blog party on the covered porch. Can you see the table hiding behind the plants?
I used an old bamboo folding table between the two white wicker chairs. The blue and white garden stool is from Wisteria, now discontinued which is such a shame!
For the tablecloth – I repurposed a Dash and Albert rug from Olivine, in Uptown, and layered over it, a classic linen placemat edged in blue scalloping.
Lunch will be gazpacho, a chilled soup, so I decided to use two small tureens - from my collection of antique Mason Ware - instead of traditional bowls. Since each piece of Mason Ware is hand-picked, I don’t have a pair, but instead, chose two that blend together. Pink roses fill a silver vase and everything else is made of glass, including the tall dessert stand, used to bring some height to the tablescape.
This Mason Ware tureen in the Japan pattern, is mostly cobalt blue and white with orange flower accents.
And this tureen is green and white with accents of cobalt blue and orange. This piece still has it’s bottom plate, which is really special.
Besides the cold soup, we’re going to be having salad – which will be served on the blue and white transferware plates that I collect. I have just two pieces in this pattern, one of my favorites. It’s such a romantic scene, with urns and a balustrade and columns. Underneath the transferware is a white china plate with a scalloped edge.
Getting hungry…..where’s the food??????? Nobody told me I had to actually cook to participate in the Tablescape Thursday party!!!! And where’s my guest?? Anyone? Maybe my springer Georgie would join me, but she is so scared of the camera.
Everything looked so pretty and elegant on the porch for a change, that I kept it like this all afternoon, just flitting about and admiring it – yes, I am that weird. I had actually forgotten about the “party” set-up all together until Ben came home from work, walked outside and saw me sitting there with my computer on my lap, blogging away – with half our dishes outside. He said - with one eye half cocked – “what is going on? Why is this table all set up?” “Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. It’s for the blog” I dismissively tell him quickly. Except he was not about to be dismissed so quickly. “You know you are a very, very strange person, you DO know that, don’t you?” Not really. I don’t think there is anything even remotely strange at all about setting up a table for an imaginary party and splashing pictures of it all over the internet, do you??????
To see other Tablescape Thursday parties, go here and scroll down to the end of the post to reach the entire list of participants!