Dining in the Pink

This week, I have two very similar tables,

 both inspired by surprises from my husband.

You see, a few months ago, he came home from business travel 

and handed me a box full of this:

Two place settings of his mother's china.

It's Charnwood by Wedgewood.

He said that he thought it would make me smile.
(It did.) 

I knew immediately that I wanted to set it up in an explosion of  pink azaleas, 
and that's exactly what we did.
Unfortunately, that was also the week that my computer went on the fritz,
and I never posted this.

(Yes, I know there's a crooked candle. I still like the picture.)

We didn't do any creative layering with other dishes this time.

 Sometimes, I think a set of beautiful china 

ought to just stand alone
 the way it was intended,
don't you?

Especially when there are so many pretty pieces.

In addition to the place settings, 

she sent along this vegetable bowl for good measure. 

Since her china is rimmed in gold and not platinum, we decided to emphasize the gold on this table. 

We used gold chargers.

And this set of stainless. 

And a coffee pot for no other reason than it had a gold rim.

Everything else was crystal or glass.

The fostoria belongs to the Duchess
(By the way, so do the azaleas.)

These napkin rings are mine.
 I found these napkins for half off at a local store.
They compliment these dishes on one side
 and reverse to a festive stripe.

The crystal is my Moonspun by Lenox

So that was the first table...

But last week, the husband brought home another little gift,
a bouquet of pink  lilies from the farmer's market.
Flowers make me smile, too.
He's a pretty good guy, that man I married.

So the girls and I decided to set another pink table with just  a few differences.

First, this one was on the inside not the outside.
It's 100 degrees out there, people...

The coffee pot was replaced with stacked cups.
The candles were a deeper pink,
and the candlesticks were brass instead of glass.

  I found those sticks in my recent attic purge.
I had hoarded them to paint them, but I'm glad I didn't now.

The Moonspun was changed to this vintage cut crystal that belongs to my sister.
I liked it better with the napkin rings.

And there you have it.
Proof that I can set a table just like his mother.
Now if I could only learn to cook like her...

 Inside or outside, I think this china is so beautiful that it would grace any table.
Many thanks to my mother-in-law  for sharing some pieces with me.

Sharing with Pink Saturday
and  Tablescape Thursday