Thinking Spring

Happy Wednesday! I'm thinking spring! How about you? I have managed to keep a little green alive since December when these little pots of ivy arrived on the scene. Thank goodness they don't need much attention!

I've been really drawn to every garden style vignette that I see lately, so I thought I would start one of my own. And nothing warms my heart more than a little chippy vintage mixed in with my usual china and linens.

I have quite a few little bits of linen that have a spot or a hole but still have the cheeriest snippets of lace attached and are ready to peek out here and there. I find them just as cheery as flowers!

I just have to show you the paper whites that I potted in early December too. They did absolutely nothing for weeks. But when I went to toss them after Christmas, thinking that I had just gotten duds, I spotted a single bit of green popping out on one of the bulbs.

Here they are just really only starting to take off. I'm thinking that there is a problem with the gravel medium I have them in. Any ideas? They have been so slow growing that I wonder where they will end up. Anyway, they have all finally sprouted and I am feeling a little redeemed!

I am cheating with a pot of faux something from Ikea that I had in the shop. It's a good stand in until I can get to the nursery.

I'm due, too, for some cut flowers for my pitchers that spend time in my wicker plant stand. Sometimes I enjoy seeing the chippy lattice, but for now I have just changed out the linens that drape over covering the side.

I am also enjoying a new chippy cement planter vase that I found last summer. I am just crazy about vintage garden stuff, but haven't used it inside very much.

 Not many days left in the month. And our forsythia is already in bloom! But we have lots of windy, cold, and unsettled days ahead.  think just a bit of green here and there is going to get me through!

Happy Hump Day!

And a happy White Wednesday too!

So glad that you stopped by!

Jacqueline

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Anatomy Of A Tablescape

Sometimes my life forgets that I have a blog to run here, and I run out of time for my tablescape. I did what all resourceful bloggers do. I took pictures of what I was doing while I was doing it. Bloggers blog. . . . all the time.

You may see some version of this tablescape soon. I say "some version" because I never know exactly what will happen in the end. Sort of like life. . . . So I thought I would walk you through my process of tablescaping.

 

I start with a concept like, I haven't used my Limoges in a long time, or,  I want to do a post with that tablecloth. Then I decide on a mood. This one was airy, feminine. Something for a ladies lunch, or a bridal shower. It is that time of year. . . .

That means somethig gauzy and layered and ruffled and lacy. A sheer underlayer. So I go hunting the house for that.

This is still an idea phase. It seems long because I'm talking it through, but it's just a quick peeking in drawers and in the linen closet for possiblities. Maybe over time. I pulled out some pale pinks and hated them. They took away from my dishes instead of enhancing them. I can only tell when I look at them together.

This sheer embroidered voile is perfect, and the dishes remind me of a runner I have with similar colors and scale to the plate design, so I'll try to incorporate that to bring in more soft color, detail, and interest. I won't know what works until I start laying it all out.

This extra something (je ne sais quois) can take a table from okay to special. The something is really essential. So I hope I can actually use it in the end.

My choice for napkins.

For napkin rings.

All ready and waiting like a bride in the wings. . . .

I know I will use these knives. They support "airy" better than silver does. The rest of the flatware doesn't matter.

There's a bit of polishing to do. The camera catches everything. (No wonder I run out of time!) Speaking of . . . it often helps to snap a few frames when you think you're finished, because a photo can show you things you didn't notice before. Pros often do this with polaroids to check lighting and framing.

My place cards will be a plain mauvy envelope. (I could write a special note inside. Or give a gift card.) The table elements are busy, so I want something simple. The solid block of color, pale as it is, grounds everything, and keeps my "airy" from floating off the table. I actually tried a floral printed card, but it was too much competition for the patterns even though the card was small.

Finally, I have to choose a setting to stage my table. It will depend on the weather (inside or out?). Today is windy. What time of day it is when I have time to shoot (where's the best light?). What space is available? I have family in for the weekend. The loud and sticky fingered kind. The dining room is out. . . .

I also have to visit the florist for my centerpiece as I have something "airy" in mind. (No, I did not say airhead!) And I have to clear the nursery for my little visitors. So it's all up in the air! (Perhaps I should have chosen a different theme.) Ah, it's all for good fun anyway!

But, hey! I hope your weekend is wonderful!

 Thanks for popping by!

Jacqueline

Join me at

Between Naps on the Porch

Tablescape Thursday

ROMANTIC GARDEN WHITES at Cabin & Cottage

What makes it ROMANTIC?

Lace. This cage disappears into the background without it.

A great antique wicker chair underneath, but a different subject when draped.

Curves make for ROMANCE.

Leafy details on an urn planter. Fill it with a leafy fern and get double the impact (at least).

Garden statues lend something lyrical to a room.

What stories could this panel echo from the past? Chippy metal--tres romantique!

Large white blooms in smooth white ironstone. The raised tracery pattern adds an extravagant sensual touch and bestows something mysterious in candlelight.

A lacy open weave garden stand pleads for the company of petite potted plants or luxurious bathroom accessories. The metal flower basket just as blithely stows sumptuous towels.

Shapely white wicker with a pretty soft cushion. Parfait boudoir seating. OOOh la la!

Botanicals les jardins. Who grows tired of an everlasting bouquet?


Nostalgic faded flowers murmur their secrets to one another in a dramatic display of melancholy.

Twining roses enchant this poetic chandelier. What reveries could take flight beneath its leafy boughs?

Dreamy whitewashed fragments ignite imagination.

Garden pillars and pedestals support classical urns as well as fanciful ferns.




All white schemes are most receptive to dreams.


Violins and fleur de lis!

Mixed shapes and textures excite the imagination.


Garden stands make original candelabras.


Ah, the endless configurations of ROMANTIC GARDEN WHITES. . .


Merci beaucoup! Au revoir! Thanks for stopping by! Here's wishing you a ROMANTIC White Wednesday!

Visit Faded Charm for more WHITE. http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/