Spring has definitely arrived!
Blue skies, light breezes, green grasses, warm weather,
and
chirping birds...
Time to throw open the shutters, to open the windows,
and to create a cheerful spring table setting...
These little white bird dishes bring spring right to the table.
Four different birds perched on the edges of
detailed leafy white bowls look as though they are
ready to burst into birdsong.
Tweet, tw-e-e-e-t, twe-ee-et, tw-eet...
This may be my favorite bird.
With his head tilted at an angle, he is so happy,
chirping away without a care... tw-e-e-e-t...
The little dishes are perfect for appetizers, salads, breads, or desserts.
Home Goods had these little dishes the past two weeks.
I had to go to two different stores to find enough to set the table
and still would like to have at least one more.
White dishes look so clean and bright, just like spring.
Paired with blue, the combination is unbeatable in cheerfulness.
Of course, new dishes call for new place mats. Of course.
After looking online and at several stores in the area,
I could not find place mats that I liked.
Then... I found dark brown basket-weave-look round chargers
that reminded me of picnic baskets or nests.
The brown did not quite go with the blue and white dishes
and the table made from reclaimed vintage English pine.
Not fazed at all! Blue paint (Valspar Navy 5) was the answer.
What do you think?
Do you prefer the dark brown charger or the blue charger?
The small cocktail linen napkins with the blue hydrangea pattern
were a gift many years ago.
The blue and white toile paper card is a gift tag serving as a place card.
Just write the guest's name on the back or front.
Later the guest can use it as a bookmarker that
will bring memories of a spring luncheon with good friends.
Little by little, I am adding more and more white.
The beautiful white scalloped-edged plate is from Pier I,
part of this spring's new collection.
The coaster under the glass is also paper.
kitchen papers® sells packages of 50 blooms coasters
with three different flowers in the set.
My favorite one is the tulip just barely visible under the glass.
The butter dish and salt/pepper set are the same
pattern as the blue floral salad plate.
A hand-carved bird and other nature-themed items
sit atop a lazy susan made from
a repurposed vintage Napa Valley wine barrel top.
An award-winning bird-carver from my hometown in Alabama
carved this incredibly life-like kildee.
My brother and his wife gave it to me as a
Christmas gift many years ago.
The blue-speckled bird eggs were a birthday gift this year
from a friend who is a retired French teacher.
I think the eggs are perfect in the flower vase tied
with the hand-stamped blue Paris ribbon
that takes my mind back to good times with her.
When we were teachers together
we chaperoned her French students
on trips to France for many summers.
That's when I fell in love with all things French!
I found the ribbon on Etsy this past winter
and had to buy it in several colors.
The preserved boxwood provides just the right touch of greenery
and will last many months.
My kind of plant...no watering.
Another recent HomeGoods find, the Honey Pot, was on the clearance aisle
and is right at home with the iron bee.
A large bird's nest with artificial hydrangeas has
little blue eggs in it also.
The nest, the bird's eggs, and the flowers add
even more spring to the table.
A pair of linen bird-print towels from Mary Lake-Thompson,
serve as a runner and complete the table setting
filled with chirping birds.
Tw-e-e-e-t, twe-eet, tw-e-ee-eeeet
"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her,
still she sings away all the time, knowing she has wings."
Victor Hugo
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The blue glasses are Jamestown Blue by Fostoria.
The blue floral salad plate, butter dish, and salt/pepper are Tea Roses by Nikko.
The flatware is Towle stainless steel with gold-colored beading.
The white scalloped-edge plates are Madeline by Pier I.
I did not receive any form of compensation from anyone.
Since I like to know pattern names and where items come from,
I included this for my readers who want to know also.
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