SEA SHELLS by the SEA SHORE

 SUMMER is quintessentially the Sand and the Sea!

 The hunt for sea shells as the waves roll in and back out, again and again! 

The shell theme for this table began with finding the Majolica by Kaldun & Bogle!  On a visit to Home Goods earlier this summer,  I purchased the majority of the pieces but there were only 5 shell salads. The table stayed in the back of my mind and then fortune smiled and on a trip to another Home Goods just a few days ago the Majolica shell salads appeared with other Kaldun & Bogle pieces.

 The Colors of the Shells ..... PINKS, CREAMS & BROWNS

 The Colors of the Sea .... BLUES

The Colors of the Shore ..... TANS, BEIGES & YELLOWS

The sand of the beach is translated in the hue of the linen tablecloth and napkins by Fieldcrest.

The napkin ring is the a sea blue shaped knot.

Shell shape blue place mat from Style Happy is just one representation of the colors of the water.

Gibson named the dark blue flatware Sangria Rope.



 Sandy hued place plate by Destino, S. A. anchors the plates.

Matceramica from Portugal has a distressed cream finish on the dinner plate.

 The sage salad plate by Matceramic has the same pattern with more detail.

A Seahorse spreader is placed at the top of the plate for the lobster cheese dish.

Majolica shell shape plate with ruffles and swirls of pink, blues and creams.

Each of the the shell plates were in four different shapes!

The center is styled with a silver sea shell of different shapes on each shell plate.



 An array of goblets and tumblers for water, lemonade and iced tea.

The shell motif goblets are from France.

A fish shape plate is surrounded by shells and sea glass.

 A clear bowl is used to serve the whole wheat crispy crackers.

The centerpiece is a shell compote with three seahorses as the pedestal on a cake stand.

The other large majolica shell is placed in front of the cake stand.

 My husband's favorite tuna salad in served from the a glass bowl placed on a bed of ruffled lettuce topping the shell compote.

The large shell serves up a seafood salad in the glass bowl surrounded by green leafy lettuce.

Another majolica fish shape seems to be swimming with the shells along the sand.

The glass bowl provides a cheddar and sour cream chip to accompany  the salads.

 The majolica seahorse pitcher .....

with the detail of the seahorse handle.

 A close up of the seahorses on the pedestal of the compote and the shells scattered on the blue bubble glass cake stand with a wavy edge.

Any shell from the majolica box to the real ones are so collectible!

 The other shell pitcher .....

with the seaweed handle in a close up.

 Each place setting has textures from ruff to shiny! 

A cornucopia shell pitcher has the hues of the ocean and the colors used through out this  tablescape.

The best of the ocean and sea awaits! 

July 4th from Texas to Oregon

I M P O RT A N T

PLEASE READ FIRST!!!!!
THE POST ON HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY

It is the post before this one.


We were in Eugene, Oregon on the 4th of July this year!

I kept trying to decide what to use for this tablescape for I was at my son's house.   His home is just a bridge away from Goodwill and that is where I began my acquiring wonderful vintage items to bring home! As a result, I found more than enough to set a fun and patriotic table! The scale is one I have been looking for and this was $6 with antiquing included  (use from wear)! The great pitcher was a find and has the Williamsburg reproduction stamp. I even found the fabric flag there for $1. The precious flag salt and pepper shakers were from Fred Meyer (a cross between Target plus adding Whole Foods for it had great items). They sold their gas cheaper than other places. The store was also close to my son's home. Were the salt and peppers cheap and on sale? Oh no, but they were cute and perfect for the 4th.

What was the perfect selection for a 4th tablescape?  A plate with children carrying the American flag. What was so great was the wonderful people at Goodwill had made a display of items for the 4th.  Does anyone recognize my plate holder? 

The red watering can with stars is filled with a red begonia plant plus the cute flag! A Fred Meyer find.

Also, the gold trimmed creamer, sugar bowl and tray was a great find at GW! I have one at home but the price was too good to pass up! The darling blue watering can including stars with the white rose plant and cute flag is from Fred Meyer! I just love the thrift stores in Oregon for the places are well stocked with great vintage and new finds. The prices are wonderful and they display everything so neatly. Goodwill was my favorite but when I went to St. Vincent de Paul I didn't find as many great things. I kept going back several times to GW and finding something new in the store every time. All these wonderful items filled the Expedition to come home to Texas.

Now, I want you to first see the star bowls which I bought at Fred Meyer and were they on sale NO but again they were great! Now look closely at the blue striped china, the mug has a Texas shaped Texas Flag motif on it!!!

Here is a closer look at the star bowls with stars inside the bowl and stripes outside the bowl.

Yes, I brought china from Texas (a Walmart product). I bought it in Texas and it stayed in Oregon for my son to use.

Did you guess my plate holder is a paper towel holder with the plate taped with clear tape for safety. 

We enjoyed the tablescape before the 4th and for the time we were there.

The back of the centerpiece contains the lovely wine decanter and red glass vase with flag. All these pieces were from GW. I had great times at the thrift stores!!!

I kept the plants alive while we were in Eugene but the watering cans were packed to come home.  I really enjoyed the lovely scenery in the town. The flowers in the parks, gardens and family homes were gorgeous!

This is the dining room set for our 4th celebration I enjoyed being able to open the sliding doors and letting the sunlight and breeze blow through.

What did my son bring home for dessert but VOODOO donuts!

These are two of the selections and I remember this one had blue raspberry with pink sprinkles. The bottom one had chocolate cake and chocolate and blue icing but I can't remember all the flavors but the names are hilarious. The one with chocolate and peanut butter chips with some kind of filling was to die for. These were the biggest and best I have ever tasted! If you are in Oregon just go to see them in either Portland or Eugene! The best and you will love it!

Hubby's Birthday MUST BE READ TO know this MAN!

You must read  this entirely to understand my wonderful HUSBAND!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

My husband wears many hats from sweetheart, Dad, son-in-love, collie dog's pet, friend, computer guru, counselor, financial adviser, all around great person!

The most important is just being there when every I need him for I can always count on him for anything!

My husband has been through too much this year already! He fell the first few days in March and everything went _______ (I can't even describe ..... for it was like hell for him!) . He lost all feeling from his waist down from a tennis injury starting back when he was  a high school tennis coach in his 20's. His back was never the same after that injury and the nerve ending this time had so much inflammation he could not stand and total numbness (like your foot going to sleep from his waist down). I don't know how he stood it! Little by little the feeling came back but he was in the hospital and rehab for 3 weeks. He then went to out patient rehab for the rest of March, April, May, until June 14 when we stopped to take a break and go to Oregon to see our son!

This sweet man climbed into our Ford Expedition with the help of a step stool and this was the first time he had stepped into the Expedition since he fell! He hadn't even tried stepping up but he had been learning to walk again just with sheer guts he pulled himself up! The whole experience has been on top of him changing his life style of eating a low carb diet. As of this writing, he has gone from 460 + pounds to 324. His specialist is just thrilled with his progress.

You must know that the candy you see in the treat carton is from before the fall and has been thrown away and was only used for the photo.

I am so glad to tell you while we were on the trip, he seemed to get better and stronger each day!  He is walking more and I finally went out and bought new shirts for him. He is 3 sizes smaller!!!!!!!! He will not let me buy new shorts and just keeps holding them up! I told him what I thought will probably happen!!!!!

No one really knows how much he has gone through and has done this with out complaining! Me! I am the one who is the complainer and he just knows how much I love him and how I have cried about him and prayed for him! He has my heart and I have his. I am so blessed to have him and thank God he is still getting better!!! He is to go back into rehab soon to help with the walking and his hands swelling.

He didn't want anything for his birthday, so I surprised him with this tablescape just for him! He just loved it for he is always helping me with ideas and suggestions plus he's my computer person!  I also bought the golf shirts in the smaller size and he was thrilled to see how wonderful he looked! We didn't have cake but everything has been Just Desserts for he is receiving his real rewards!