Elegant Spring Tablesetting

Gerald and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on April 29th. We are so incredibly busy, that when we found ourselves with one (and only one) free evening this week, we decided we'd rather spend it at home with the kids. So I pulled together a tablescape and a meal from what we had on hand. I love it! It's so fresh and springy, but elegant enough for an impromptu, yet special, anniversary dinner. 

I started with a white linen tablecloth.

I added these lime green placemats from Dollar Tree. They're a little casual, but with a charger on top, they're mostly covered. They add just a little pop of color.

Next I  layered the gold chargers I recently got at Dollar Tree. The simple beaded design around the edge gives it a little distinction.

Next came the plates I found at a thrift store a couple years ago. They are "Heritage" by Pfaltzgraff and cost .50 cents each. I started to use my white everyday dishes, but they are round just like everything else. These squared-off edges broke things up a little.

These lime green with white trim salad plates are "Rise" by Rachel Ray. I love them and use them a lot. Spring, summer, at Christmas with red dishes...they are so versatile. 

I found these sweet little bread and butter plates while thrifting recently. They are "Lorelei" by Onieda. .25 cents each. I almost felt guilty...

These amber stems are some of my favorite. They are "Jamestown" by Fostoria. The amber repeats the gold accents elsewhere on the table.

You see this flatware a lot. It is "Abigail" by Hampton Silversmiths. It came from Target right after we married. Not too fancy, but the gold adds a little extra touch. I made the napkins last year, but hadn't used them yet. I found the fabric on clearance at my local Walmart and knew I could use it. It was just a couple of yards, but I got eight napkins for about $5.

The frosted gold votive candle holders came from Dollar Tree. I think they are so elegant. I use them all the time.

I've often told you how I use greenery from my yard or a potted plant instead of cut flowers. I just feel like I get my money's worth by buying something I can use again. Not to mention, I'm a little intimidated by flower arranging. I did attend a class at church last night taught by Haley Scott (daughter of my Miss Manners cohort, Nancy Itson). She gave a lot of great tips on transforming "grocery store" bouquets. You may see a few more cut flowers in the future. This is called Mexican heather, and I had bought it for my deck - I just hadn't gotten around to potting it yet! How's that for perfect timing?!

As I said, I just looked to see what we had on hand for dinner. I always have chicken tenders in the freezer and rice in the pantry. I had tomatoes and sweet potato patties (one of Jewell's favorites) on hand. I did stop and pick up the asparagus.

Dessert was a fresh strawberry mousse. I'll share more about that later, but for now, I want you to notice the bowls I served it in. I'm sure that these were not expensive, although they look like a million bucks. They belonged to my grandmother (my daddy's mama) and were what she referred to as her "ice cream bowls". My grandparents were already gone by the time Gerald and I married, but once we picked our date, my aunt reminded me that it was also my grandparents' anniversary. I love knowing we share the same anniversary. It makes me feel closer to them! I knew I wanted to honor them that night by using these bowls.

Here's a bird's eye view. Isn't it pretty? Green and gold with purple accents against crisp white. I'm so happy with this last minute tablescape. It turned out to be a wonderful evening at home with Gerald and the kids. Much better than going out! I hope you'll take time to make a special meal and tablescape for your family soon!

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

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