Mixing Bowls Cookbook Club Tablescape #1...February 2018

I recently hosted my cookbook club. It's called the "Mixing Bowls Cookbook Club", and we meet every other month. We choose a theme for everyone to cook from, and then we sign up to bring different dishes. The theme for dinner that night was slow cooker or instapot favorites.

I wasn't sure exactly how many would be attending, so I set both my dining room and kitchen tables. Today I'm showing you the tablescape from the dining room.

I am endeavoring this year to use what I have to decorate my tables. I have lots I have never used, and it's always fun to reuse something in a totally new way. So, some of this you've seen, and some you haven't.

I began with a white linen tablecloth...

then added this runner I made several years ago. I have used it twice before - both times for baby showers! I love how cheerful it is. I have two of these. 

Next I used blue placemats I found at Walmart last summer for .99 cents each. They are a true navy.

I don't think you've seen these dinner plates yet. I found them a while back at a thrift shop for $1 each. They are by Nikko and are just called "Classic White". I have eight dinner plates and eight bowls. All together, I paid $12.

I like the juxtaposition of the white octagonal plate and the round navy placemat.

Then I repeated the circle of the placemat with these cute little salad plates. They are by Gibson, and I think the pattern name is "Bella". I paid .25 cents each for these at a thrift store. I have eight. 

These stems are Libbey "Gibraltar" in dusky blue. I got these at the thrift store, too, and paid about $25 for about 12 glasses.

My table was set. Next I had to decide on my centerpiece. I have quite a collection of cookbooks. I went and pulled a few that would coordinate with the table runner and fanned them out a little.

We are the "Mixing Bowls" cookbook club, so I knew I needed to use my white ceramic mixing bowls. I keep these on my counter next to the stove, and they are always filled with onions and garlic. I decided that onions were the perfect centerpiece! I did clean them up a little by pulling off the loose skins.

I always like to have a candle or two on my table, and this navy lantern votive holder was just the thing. It repeated my navy accent color while adding some interesting shape.

I finished off with green napkins I made several years ago for St. Patrick's Day, if I remember correctly. You see these a lot. The flatware is what I got from my parents when I got my first apartment over 25 years ago! It is "Margate" by Pfaltzgraff. It wasn't expensive, but it is quality stuff, and it's held up so well.

Here's a full view of my table.

While I don't have to have fresh cut flowers for every table, I do like a little greenery to add an organic touch. We had a brief warming spell in February, and my camellias sent out some shoots. I happened to be doing my Spring pruning the weekend before, so I just cut a few branches and placed them in water. The white Kate Spade pitcher is so crisp and clean against the stripes and dark green of the branches. I found it new with tags for $7 at a thrift store.

I've used these colorful striped table runners before. Here it is last summer in a snail-themed baby boy shower my mother and I hosted for my sister-in-law's sister-in-law. They're so versatile because they have just about every color in the rainbow!

 

Check back soon for the tablescape from my kitchen table.

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

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