Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Guess who's coming to dinner?



Why it’s KelliSheila, and Vanessa
three favorite bloggers
just goofy enough to mention
that they would have gladly dined at last week’s ice table in the Piney Stick Forest.   

Silly girls.

We thought we would reward their adventurous spirits by inviting them inside for a nice steamy bowl of invisible chowder.

Chowder is the perfect comfort food
for the dreary weather we’re having,
and it’s the inspiration for this week’s table. 
 It’s not just any old chowder, either. 
It’s corn chowder, my favorite.

That's why I'm coming too...


We have the Newlywed Niece to thank for all the color at this table.
You see, we wanted to use a set of dishes in this pattern. 

 Warm? Yes. 
But just a tiny bit too brown.
We wanted the table to say corn chowder, not beef stew.

Fortunately, we remembered some maize colored place mats that The Niece  had gotten for a shower gift.  

So we borrowed them…

 
And also a blue tablecloth to go underneath them…

And then some napkins for a little pattern. 


We used photocopies of her table linens 
to decoupage coasters and place cards.
Then, we nestled the name in little bowls of croutons
to give them a little personality.

Not that these ladies need any more personality...


We were about to leave when we noticed 
these plates 
hanging on the wall at the Love Shack.


So we took them, too.


We sandwiched them between the brown ones
and topped it all with a little yellow bread plate.


Finally, we added a soup bowl. 
large  enough to put
the chow in chowder...


See what I mean? 


 By the way,, those candlesticks belong to the niece too


As does the casual stemware.


And the idea for a chocolate dipped marshmallow
in each cocoa mug.

With much thanks to The Newlywed Niece, 
we finished our table. 

We couldn't have done it without her.


I call this one
Chowder and Chatter.

It may not be as sparkly as an ice on a piney stick forest,
but it's a whole lot warmer. 

*****
Sharing this with the Porch People


News Flash!
The little birdie in comment number one was right. 
Wednesdays with the Duchess will feature  this tonight.


Corn chowder...
Inspired by our table...
Yum.
Who knew it would be this easy to get her to fix my favorite soup?  I think next week, I think I'll suggest a tablescape inspired by Fettucine Alfredo.




35 comments:

Denise said...

I think I need to get married again so I can have some of the great "stuff" my daughter has received. Aren't we so happy she doesn't mind us pilfering at her house? Pictures turned out great! And, as usual, I love your wit.

PS Pretty sure the Duchess is serving some of that corn chowder for supper at her house tonight. Hope you coming too...

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Debbie, you are going to die when you open your front door and in we walk1 LOL! Oh, I loved this and love being invited to the piney stick forest to dine on this delightful tablescape! I am so excited that it's as if I'm actually going to be dining there... oh, if only I knew where you lived, I might just grab Mr. Magpie and move on in!

Love the colors, the textures, and all of the details, and this is a very warm tablescape. had to laugh about the beef stew plate being lightened for corn chowder. Those colors are just perfect and the 'scape on the niece's dishes, oh so cute! And I could go for a great big bowl of chowduh as we say in the South. YUM!

You will get a kick out of this, but when I first saw my place at the table, I thought my place card was sitting in a little dish of nuts. LOL! Very symbolic, you know. But I see now that it is croutons, and that they are being shared by the others. WHEW!

Loved this. Thank you so much for the invitation, and I want you to load up you buggy with those dishes and come further south to play, too! We had great temps today. YEA!

Happy Tablescape Thursday...

XO,

Sheila :-)

The Quintessential Magpie said...

P.S. Please forgive the numerous typos in my post. I'm having trouble with my keyboard, missing keys and not capping others. But I hope you got the gist! (I blame it on the keyboard when really me. But don't tell. ;-)

The Quintessential Magpie said...

See, it should say it's. I told you!

Kathleen said...

Love the colours in this tablescape. Those candlesticks have caught my eye and the marshmallows look good too. A great little finishing touch.

Anita Diaz said...

I absolutely LOVE thes colors! I have nothing even remotely like this either. Love those napkins too!! I bought the glassware off ebay. It's Fostoria "Argus" and is one of the more affordable Fostoria patterns. It's from the early 70s I think. I got 12 of each in the sherbets, water, wine, and iced teas all from the same guy, then my mom added juice glasses. We use them a lot obviously!!

Angel said...

I love corn chowder! And that chocolate-dipped marshmallow makes me want to jump into the computer and pull up a chair. Of course, I would never be so bold as to invite myself to dinner...or would I? :)

The Polka Dot Closet said...

What a fabulous job!! I love chowder, but not before I finish that fabulous marshmallow! With a table that pretty it does not matter if the food is good or not, it is all in the packaging!

Carol

Miss Char said...

What a fantastic warm table. Every piece is well placed and the plates you pulled off the wall fit perfectly into the stack. Oh and who could resist the chocolate covered marshmallow. I haven't done those in a long time but thanks to your beautiful tablescape I'll be reminded to use them for my family Valentines dinner. Thanks so much for sharing and enjoy your company and chowder.

Vanessa said...

What time should I be there??? I'm just excited that you think I have a lot of personality! :-) The goofiness just goes comes as part of the package. I absolutely love what you did with the coasters and if I had a crafty bone in my body I would try that sometime. As it is, I will just haul myself over there ASAP to enjoy some chowder in the best company ever! Do you think it will still taste good in a few days? :-)
Thanks for inviting me Debbie!
Vanessa
P.S. When I saw my name in the first photo I got all jealous thinking you had someone in your "real" life named Vanessa too who got to come over to your house and hang with you! LOL!

Victoria said...

Corn chowder! Yum, thanx for the idea! Now I know what to make for dinner tonight! I'd recently found a recipe for a corn casserole---maybe I'll make that--since we've had lots of soups/stews here lately!
I love the idea of photo-copying the linens to decoupage on the coasters!!! And your placemats are a gorgeous shade of yellow! I've begun looking for some casual stemware like that!
I would have loved dining in the Piney Stick Forest, too!

Lynn said...

Great table. the colors work so well together! Cracks me up that you're taking plates off the wall! I kinda picture it as you're leaving... "oh, and we can use these too-toodles" lol. Sounds like you thawed out ok, glad to hear it:@)

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Well those dishes are familiar...my son and his wife have the brown ones. The table is just wonderful and I have decided you just have tooooooo much fun...so I need to join in!!!
Enjoy that chowder!!!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

You are having a lot of fun with tablescaping, and so nice you are including other family members. The table AND the soup look fantastic!

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

Pretty! I love the texture of the dishes and bowl! The colors are great, too!

Alycia Nichols said...

What a pretty, pretty table! And that idea for the coasters...wow! That HAD to take a lot of creative and hand-on work! Terrific!!! The color combo is fabulous!

Kathleen said...

Chowder and chatter sounds good to me! And the table looks so pretty! Love all the different elements. Isn't this fun!
I don't know where the afternoon went...oh yes, I was Bringing in the Sheep! LOL

Marigene said...

Fabulous table...love the napkins.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Somehow in all the excitement of the day, I missed the name "Chowder and Chatter"... that is priceless, Debbie. SO I'm hopping off the TabThurs Train to let you know I think that is a hoot. Love it. Still loving my invitation to this neat soiree. THANKS!

Happy Tablescape Thursday...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

I love a blue and yellow combo, and I love the way y'all run to everyone's house to put together fabulous tablescapes. That china is so unique and really pretty. laurie

The Charm of Home said...

I love how you blended the colors on the plates. They go perfect with the linens. The linens copied for the coasters was a very smart idea! Too cute.
Sherry

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

Oh fun -- you make me wish I had a tablescaping partner. Love how you brought this all together with your amazing creatve ideas -- the coasters are such a great idea!

The Tablescaper said...

Chowder and a beautiful table! Love the mix of color and those napkins!!!

- The Tablescaper

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Lovely table, as always. Corn chowder ...
yum-O!

Marlis said...

How lucky to be able to tablescape with your niece. Her things are very lovely. And your prodding to lighten up the dishes turned out the perfect hand! I love this table.

Red Couch Recipes said...

What a fun table with borrowed things! I loved the napkins and the whole dialogue. Joni

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

What a great table! The napkins pull everything together so nicely -- and swiping (I mean, borrowing) the plates off the wall was the perfect choice! I wonder what etiquette says about how long you can wait before you return everything to the Newlywed Niece... :-)

Jennie said...

That niece has great taste! Or gifters with great taste. ;) Turned out GREAT! Love the colors - very warm indeed.

But the quote over there made me laugh right out loud. Too funny!

CAL said...

I love this table Debbie!! The croutons/placecards were a wonderful little surpise that made me smile.

Isn't it wonderful to go to a newlyweds home and see all the newest and latest? We should have bridal showers every 10 years.

A Perfect Setting said...

This table is warm and inviting! The casual stemware and the beautiful dishes, textures, and colors, look amazing together. Sounds fun, and corn chowder? yummmmmm

Tricia said...

Debbie, y'all have the most fun setting a table of anyone in Blogland! I love the idea of photocopying the pattern on the table linens -- SO clever! And Dull and Dutiful me would NEVER have thought of perching the placecards in a tiny bowl of croutons! Love it!

Chatty Crone said...

What a fun party that would be - and a beautiful table scape - and wonderful food!

sandie

Sharon said...

Oh, OK, now I get it - this is how it goes, huh? I accidentally miss ONE post last week, and all of a sudden I'm taken off the invite list? Harsh, Debbie - really harsh. Downright ICY.

The Newlywed Niece is some serious competition in the "Family Tablescape Wars" - the clincher just might be the slight decoupage advantage you have...

YUM on the chowder!! Could The Duchess make another batch for next week? I'll start driving now!

xoxo

Entertaining Women said...

Love the chocolate tones with the blues and yellows...just wonderful! I think that we need to register for new dishes every ten years or so. It looks like you had a ball with the precious niece's goodies. Thank you for sharing the charming design. Cherry Kay

Sami said...

I love it - especially the napkins! The chowder looks good too ;). I am now your newest follower.

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