Gone Fishin'...Father's Day 2015

My daddy just retired. Well, kind of. When he's not at Faulkner these days, you can usually find him on Lake Martin in his new boat that I have suggested that he christen, The Wet Eagle! (Jury's still out on that one.)

For years we have enjoyed eating bream, crappie, catfish and largemouth bass. Now he's fishing for striped bass. Which really isn't a bass at all. It's a saltwater fish that used to make it's way up from the gulf each year before all the dams were built. Now the Alabama Wildlife Department stocks them annually - just 2 per acre, is what I've heard. So there's not a lot of them. And you don't just go sit in a slew under a tree and wait for them to come to you! It's work. But man, is it worth it.

The first time Gerald went with Daddy, he told me it was pretty boring. He didn't catch one. But when he finally did, he was "hooked" immediately! Even Mama has gotten in on the action.

We have enjoyed eating these clean, meaty fish. We've grilled them, sauteed them and even made fish tacos! With all the fish they've been catching lately, I didn't have to think hard to come up with my menu and table decorations for Father's Day. 

Gone Fishin'!

I dug into my stash for all things "fishy" and actually had to buy very little. The off-white tablecloth is one I've had for years. It's actually meant for my smaller kitchen table, but I like the fact that my wood table shows a little at both ends where Gerald and Daddy sit. It's very masculine! I did spend $5 on a piece of blue burlap to place in the center to mimic the feel of water. The placemats came from Dollar Tree years ago. I bought them for a luau-themed Bunco party that I hosted. But I thought they looked a lot like cane fishing poles!

The plates are from a set called "Mosaic Shells" by Oneida. I got these years ago for next to nothing at the Oneida outlet while we were at the beach. The salad plates and mugs have seashells and sand dollars on them, which were a little too beachy for my theme, so I swapped them out for glass dessert plates and mugs. The glass plates were a gift from my daddy's sister. She loves to shop yard sales and had been collecting these over the years. She knew I would put them to good use! They are made by Arcoroc. They go well with my Dollar Tree clear glass coffee mugs! The flatware is "Margate" by Pfaltzgraff, and I had it before we married. I have found it from time to time at Big Lots and on ebay and I have 24 place settings, plus extra dessert forks and teaspoons.

The vintage brown stems were also a wedding gift from my Aunt Dale. They are "Woodland" by Fostoria. When we married, she gave me a number of items from her large collection. It included pickle dishes and cake plates belonging to my grandmother, great aunts and great grandmother. It was such a sweet thing for her to do and it was one of my favorite gifts! Wrapped around the coffee mug is a fishing lure bookmark that I made for each guest. I'll show you later this week how easy they are to make.

My centerpiece was a simple fern in a small galvanized bucket. I get these buckets off the dollar aisle at Target and usually keep them filled with plastic utensils for outdoor parties. Gerald pulled some old reels out of storage and I placed them around the fern.

I found the net at Hobby Lobby for $6 - before my 40% off coupon! The little fishing rods also came from their dollhouse section (30% off $3.50). I had intended to stick them in my fern, but they were just lost in there, so I put them out on the table. The tealight holders came from Walmart a million years ago. I have them in gold (above), white and red. Above is a picture of me and my daddy when I was about four. We were making butter! The simple black frame was just $2 at Walmart. He can display this in his new office.

  

Gerald got a picture for his office, too. In fact, this is my favorite image of Gerald and the kids. Appropriately enough, they're all smiling above a mess of fish they'd just caught!

Finally, the placecards announced the theme - Gone Fishin'. I found the stamp on sale at Hobby Lobby for around $3 and used craft paper card stock for the placecard. In all, I spent about $20 for the fishing lure bookmarks and the other odds and ends I used for the tablescape. Not bad! And it all goes into my stash to be used again one day.

Over the next few days, I'll share with you how I made the bookmarks as well as the recipes from lunch. I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day and got to celebrate it with the special men in your life!

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I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!

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