Food & Entertaining

Tablescape Tuesday: Dining Out

October 28, 2014~ Food & Entertaining, Outdoors, Tablescape Tuesday

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness”
Psalm 29:2

Welcome to our picnic edition of Tablescape Tuesday! In the Appalachian foothills of northeast Alabama, there is one thing very predictable: our weather is unpredictable! Sunday was unusually warm and glorious, so we decided to take advantage of one more opportunity to eat outdoors before it turns too cold. Having shared our traditional after church lunch with family, we decided on a light picnic of fruit and cheese. I share a fondness of alfresco dining with the French and Italians! You can see a few alfresco tablescapes that I have done here:

Breakfast Alfresco!
Summer’s Happy Ending
Reservations for Two Under the Arbor

And who knows…with our unpredictable weather we may have Christmas Dinner outdoors!

“I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” -Nathaniel Hawthorne

The tray is an antique oak bed tray that I have had for years and it’s legs are folded down for our picnic. I bought the quilt at a fundraising auction for Seth’s school quite a few years ago.

The basket holds a special memory. Seth called one morning and said, “I need a picnic basket.” I located one in Birmingham. Later that week, he took the lovely Allison to Little River Canyon with the picnic basket full of goodies. He set up a video camera on a beautiful outcropping of rocks and got down on one knee and popped the question! You can see wedding photos here: Tablescape Tuesday: The Wedding Edition and The Wedding Edition Part Two. The lantern, along with three more is always found on the steps of our kitchen porch at Christmas.

Butch’s Taylor guitar that he makes the most beautiful music on!

The late afternoon sunlight cast a pretty light on our little picnic!

Cute sugar cookies from the bakery–and delicious, I might add!

I have enjoyed using the dome stands that I ordered from a catalog?? They fit beautifully in tablescapes!

The last of the season’s zinnias!

A plate of pears showing off their autumnal beauty!

We went casual for our picnic for two–this is how everyday living looks!

A few favorite things: leopard throw, coffee table book by Betty Lou Phillips, and the needlepoint deer pillow! A closer look and you can see the mother of pearl dessert knives that I found last week at a bargain!

Had to include this cool pic of the bicycle’s spokes reflected on Butch’s guitar

My favorite singer of all time. So enjoyed his little mini-concert of some of our favorite John Denver songs!

Katy’s Nana gave me the cute 3-wheel bicycle. You may see more of it!

People in the South (us included) love old fashioned hoop cheese!

Last year, Butch and I celebrated our fortieth anniversary and Seth gifted us with an afternoon of outdoor photos on our “piece of heaven in the foothills of the Appalachians”. This pic was taken where we shared our picnic!

As always, a warm thank you for sharing our everyday living!

Blessings,
Butch and Pam

“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

Tablescape Tuesday: Bon Voyage to Bon Appetit!

October 20, 2014~ Food & Entertaining, Tablescape Tuesday, Travel

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him”
Psalm 18:30

Bonjour y’all!

The South of France is another favorite place of mine to visit. Butch and I were able to spend some time there in 2010 and get a glimpse into their everyday living–and what a feast for the senses! The beautiful color palette of the houses, purple fields of lavender, bathed in the famous light that artists like Cezanne and Van Gogh used to paint their masterpieces. The sounds of the market and families’ laughter as they dine leisurely outside. Your taste buds will appreciate the fruitiness of the olive oil, the crustiness of a French baguette, and sweetness of sun-ripened figs. The pungent smell of rosemary and the enticing smell of freshly baked brioche and croissants wafting from the local boulangerie fill the air. And the atmosphere is one that can never be recreated, although in today’s post I have made my best attempt!

Looking out over the tiled roof onto a picturesque Provençal mas

The village of Eze with its narrow streets and passageways!

On today’s Tablescape Tuesday, we are mixing a little travel with a little tablescape. The South of France encompasses The French Riviera and Provence. This area is made up of quaint villages and large cities like Nice and Marseille. Among all of the villages that we visited while we were there, two of the most colorful were Eze and Roussillion. Their colors range from yellow and orange to a beautiful red! The medieval village of Eze on the French Riviera is famous for the view of the sea from its hill top, and the village of Roussillon is situated in the heart of the biggest ochre deposit in Europe.

Just as Provence is a feast for the senses, so is our beloved South. Living in Our South is so similar to the South of France! Our area is known for a slower pace of living, fabulous farm to table food, and views of rivers and mountains with colors of gold, orange, and red during autumn.

This is also my first Everyday Living Link Party! I am excited to see what you all share. Scroll all the way to the bottom for details!

The kitchen island is the center of our kitchen. It serves as a prepping station, buffet for entertaining, and casual dining space. I used the colors of Provence for Tablescape Tuesday!

My inspiration for this tablescape is the tablecloth that I bought in Sete, France! Sete is a port and seaside resort on the Mediterranean, often referred to as the Venice of France.

I used goldenrods (which are plentiful in the South) as the centerpiece. Their bright gold color lends itself to Provence!

Vietri leaf bowl with autumnal finds from The Paris Market in Savannah!

The dark blue Gorham (I think) stemware was a gift from Butch and they frequent my tables in every season!

I used fragrant rosemary from my herb garden in a couple of antique flasks (also found at The French Market) and cobalt mini vases. Rosemary thrives in our South!

Each place setting is anchored with rattan chargers with the creamy white dinner plates often seen on my tablescapes.

See here: Reservations for Two Under the Arbor
A Birthday Celebration!
Transitional Tablescape Tuesday
September Summer ‘scape

The salad plates are Provençal colors with a rooster in the center, a gift from Seth!

Looking into the sitting area of our kitchen as seen in “Our Refuge“

This large rooster occupies a place of honor on the island! The Gallic rooster has become a hallmark of French country design.

Autumn in the South always involves pumpkins! The gold candle is nestled in popcorn.

View through the window into our pasture

Gold napkins, first seen here on “Tablescape Tuesday: The Wedding Edition“, folded in a Fleur de lis!

The small rooster and hen are Fitz and Floyd

The bar stools are from Horchow. I will enjoy the colors of Provence and Our South all week!

An example of the colors of Provence!

The Mediterranean city of Sete on our trip in 2010

Thank you for spending your precious time with us!
Blessings,
Butch and Pam

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Now, it’s your turn!! We welcome anything here–from tablescapes to travels to home tours to decorating ideas to recipes– you name it, we want to see it! We want to know more of what you do in your day to day life! There is no limit as to how many posts you can enter! Please visit around and comment on others’ posts. I always love reading comments left on my posts, and of course, please follow my blog and me on Instagram!

Tablescape Tuesday: Reservations For Two Under the Arbor

October 14, 2014~ Food & Entertaining, Tablescape Tuesday

“…yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes”

James 4:14

Oftentimes, we are so caught up in the busyness of our everyday living that we ignore what we deem the ordinary until ordinary is no longer present. After a life changing event in 2007, I found a day that normally would be called ordinary is actually “extraordinary”!
Today, I challenge you to take time to embrace your “ordinary”–celebrate the small things! Each day is a gift perfectly wrapped in love from the Heavenly Father!

The arbor now sits in our back yard near our pasture, but not always so. Shortly after we built our home, Butch constructed the arbor under two large and very old water oaks in our front yard and hung a swing. It faced our view of the mountain. Most summer evenings found us sharing conversations and glasses of sweet tea in that swing! After many years, Butch decided to move it to the back yard and we planted “lady banks” roses to climb the arbor. In the spring, it is beautifully dressed in hundreds of small yellow roses bursting into bloom!

We placed a table for two underneath with a cranberry toile cloth from Williams Sonoma

I mixed touches of blue with cranberry! You will often see the white chargers on my tables. The dinner plate first appeared here in “The Debut of Tablescape Tuesday”. The cranberry glass salad plates are used at Christmas and Valentine’s Day. The blue stemware was found at Tuesday Morning. Just a few candles dot the simple table setting with a large candle stand in the background (normally found in our powder room).