For all its cheerfulness, there is something quite melancholy contained in a sunflower. For there is no mistaking its message. The end of a season.
For some it's a welcome sign. The herald of more gentle temperatures. A signal for gathering and cocooning. Of fullness and preparation. Of new colors and new flavors.
I wonder if you ever saw this tablecloth last year at Williams-Sonoma which I thought would be ideal for this time of year.
I fell in love when I saw it a year ago at the height of summer, but it was too much of an indulgence then. Like so many things, it made good sense to let it go. When the shift to holiday decorating occurred, suddenly there it was again, its price slashed seventy five percent when the season was all wrong!
I saved it all year. I knew there would come a time when it would serve to perfection like the ripening of vegetables, or the turning of the leaves.
So much of life is held in the waiting. Not in idleness or in over-anticipation, but in a gentle unfolding day to day.
This year there are these luscious washed Italian linen napkins to be had! I instantly knew they would be perfect for my end of season table. They have a happy relaxed rumpled attitude. I keep seeing them as a big soft bed for the forks to lie in.
I chose the grey linen to pick up the hue of the line drawings and lettering. The vintage fish knives echo the tones of amber.
I enjoy the suggestion of an Italian still life on the table. Or of Arles, and the French countryside.
A bit of Limoges mixed in.
It's been an active, beautiful summer. And I hate to see it go.
When the season finally changes, it will be sweet and a bit sad. I will want to hold summer tightly for a moment as you do with a loved one when you wish you could stay forever. Already waiting, though not idly, until the next time you meet. . . .
I will miss you, Summer.
Adieu . . .
Jacqueline
Join me at
Just found your blog and look forward to reading more :-) Those sunflowers with that tablecloth are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wistful time of year, Jacqueline, and so beautifully captured on your lovely table. It does seem as though we spend so many months yearning for spring and summer to arrive, and when it finally does it's so fleeting.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers and the tablecloth sing the end of summer.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate to see summer end, I love to see the fall colors.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's because they are the colors I like to wear and the ones that look best in my home. Your beautiful photos capture what I like best about the season!
Everything is beautiful and that tablecloth is perfection -- love it, and the price reduction! :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a light, summery setting! Pretty flowers and I especially like your milk glass dish on a pedestal, so delicate and pretty!
ReplyDeleteSo much of life is held in the waiting. Not in idleness or in over-anticipation, but in a gentle unfolding day to day.
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful Jacquelin quote.
Ahhhhhh... your photos are so gorgeous and your words are so right on, it is enchanting. Just look at those linens, and the beautiful yellows against the gray. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteCindy
Perfect transition post - not too fall, definately still summer - very well done and beautifully and artisically composed.
ReplyDeletePer usual.
♥
Looks lovely and fresh!
ReplyDeleteLOVELY POST. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN , ALTHOUGH I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO AUTUMN ALREADY. I LOVE THAT TABLECLOTH, A FRIEND GAVE ME THE NAPKINS WHICH I USE AS TEA TOWELS, GORGEOUS PATTERN.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous table, Jacqueline. So relaxed, but elegant, the perfect setting for lunch with friends, dinner with family. And great as we transition to Fall {I can't wait!} Hope you are having a lovely week,
ReplyDeletexo Lidy
Your table is so pretty, Jacqueline. The tablecloth and napkins are so perfectly suited for this time of year, as are the sunflowers. I agree with you...I'd like summer to stay around for awhile, we will surely be missing it in a few months!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Such lovely images! Makes me think I don't want summer to end, but that's not so. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe linens are glorious, Jacqueline. The soft folds of the washed linen napkins and the table cloth work well together. Good finds!
LOVE those Italian linen napkins...but I am bias on this one!
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, this is a fabulous table setting. Love that tablecloth that you got for a steal. Love the linen napkins, too. I can't wait to get some sunflowers.
ReplyDeleteI think this has to be my most favorite of all your posts. Those flowers are gorgeous,love the yellow. I always fill the front of my home with yellow, apricot and white flowers during the Fall. Can't wait. I love the Fall and it has been so hot this summer that I really don't mind letting it go. There is that magnificent hutch with all those gorgeous white dishes. Oh, you are a tease. I want to touch and play with them. So, so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh my, you spoke as thought you read my mind (but much better)! I feel just this way.
ReplyDeleteNot wanting to let go of summer is like that precious hug with a loved one you don't want to let go of...what a sweet way to think about it!
Love the tablecloth you patiently waited for! What a great look it has and your bouquet looks so beautiful with it!
It's so true that the sunflower does mark the end of summer but it can last a while!
Lovely post...thanks
~Liz
Beautiful, as always. I still feel in the thick of summer.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, visiting your blog makes my heart melt, really... It is so beautiful, so peaceful, so wonderfully joyful... Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a fabulous tablecloth. All that buttery yellow you added makes such a pretty table. Excellent job!
ReplyDeleteBitter sweet the end of summer. Like you I find the sunflower the herald of the end of summer....
ReplyDeleteWent out to seek some for my table today, but couldn't find real ones, and the silk ones were either too brassy a yellow of too orange.
Beautifully set table.Luv all the textures.
Cheers, Gee
I like your blog... and your flowers!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Italy,
Rosa
This is so beautifully put together. I love the tablecloth and that charger plate is amazing. Your photos are amazing too!
ReplyDeleteOOh what artistry. I love that tablecloth. But alas, none of the good stores here. bummer, so no sales. You scored with this one. I do like how the handles of the fish knives play with the colors in the tablecloth. The flowers and limoges plates are fabulous too. So serenly perfect! Be blessed, xo marlis
ReplyDeleteThe sunflowers are beautiful, odd that I've never associated them with summer's end. I love your tablecloth and the Limoge china - perfect for a late summer table.
ReplyDeleteAll your pics are beautiful. I love the yellow and white together, the gorgeous tablecloth. Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteHugs
It has indeed been a beautiful summer and I hope it is far from over. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is an absolutely perfect transitional table. All the elements are beautiful individually and work together in perfect harmony.
ReplyDeleteFantastically beautiful, I love Sun flowers, It makes me want to rush out and get some last year I had planted some but they didn't work this year for some reason..Love the table cloth...and the Limoges dish!!! get post as always...Happy Weekend with love Janice
ReplyDeleteThere is something sweetly sad about this time of year. Your table looks beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, gorgeous photos, as always. And beautiful sentiments--however, I am NO where near ready for summer to be over. This is the first year in several that it even feels like we here in Oregon have even had a summer! I saw Halloween decorations in a store yesterday and couldn't believe it! Oh my! I definitely am not ready to say goodbye to sunshine, because fall in Oregon is a return to the gray wet gloom. But then I will have your beautiful blog to turn to for beauty! Love, Kay
ReplyDeletePerfect tablescape! This is my favorite post of all this week! From the begining to the end every word and photo is fabulous. The tablecloth is the basis for this wonderful table and a great price and lovely to touch. This is the waning season of summer you have captured and your Wedgwood cream on cream is lovely. Beautiful and Breath Taking!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pam
Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous tablecloth!!! Soft buttery yellow, a bee and Sunflowers! I L O V E Sunflowers! A perfect end to Summer 2012, dear friend!
Fondly,
Pat
Jacqueline: I'm covering two posts at one time as I am seemingly farther and farther behind each day. Sunflowers are one of my favorites and I certainly enjoyed their vibrant color against your calm whites, and the lace covering over your books is very charming. I loved it all and it is sad that summer is coming to a close, but always happy to look ahead..Happy Sunday..Judy
ReplyDeleteHi Jaqueline,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful setting, as always. The color of the sunflowers is so lovely and it goes beautifully with your limoges! Brilliant. I look forward to seeing signs of the seasons changing. Fall is my favorite time of year!
Danielle xo
I just love your yellow flowers.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty photos Jacqueline! I love the napkins. They have a very rustic quality that is so charming! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteSherry
Hi! Just in case you haven't seen the news, you have been featured at Potpourri Friday at 2805!
ReplyDelete