Robin Flies South...

A blog about decorating and tablescaping with an emphasis on creativity and smart shopping over cash!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Autumn and Artichokes

Welcome to this week's Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.  Please visit her site and check out the other tablescapes.   Didn't this week fly by?  I know it did for me.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not!

Signs of Fall and Halloween are everywhere.  I have never seen more variety of pumpkins.  What will people think of next?  The pumpkin on my front porch looked so plain that I perched a black crow from Dollar Tree on him (saw it in Blogland , of course!).  He seems happier now, nestled between the flowers and the cement pedestals (and yes, he's a male pumpkin in my opinion). 


No pumpkins in this tablescape.  I like to change it up each week.  Different table, different colors, different mood.  Today I am setting the table in my Kitchen/Great Room.  I enjoy watching color trends and using them in a tablescape is a great way to go with what's "in" without a commitment.  Purple is hot right now.  I've even seen Kitchen Aid stand mixers in purple.  (I went with classic white for mine and now I have black counter tops and it looks bad.!  Ah, the best intentions!)  This table went together quickly and I'm now a big fan of the color.



I was able to incorporate some of my Pineapple accessories (I have many!).  I found the place mats at my 1/2 price Goodwill.  Almost all of the linens I find there have never been used.  I love the drama of the black background.



I always put my place setting together first. No charger this week so as not to block the pattern on the place mats.  I used my gold stoneware plates (Ross).  These have proven to be as versatile as my white plates.  I found the purple plates at another GW.  Two are true purple and two are more of an eggplant, deep blue color.  They look brown in this picture but they are not!





This past weekend I visited The Rustic Rose and on my second round of the store  ( I always go through a store twice and that's when I discover the good stuff) I found these golden yellow square plates ($2.99 each). 



Aren't they different?   They would also be great to place a candle on.  I bought these leaf bowls at Ross.  The first time I saw them there were only 3 but on my next visit they had more.



The brand new purple napkins are from the 1/2 price GW and I layered them with a green one.  The napkin rings are from The Stationery Store located in the charming little shopping district in Venice, FL. 



The purple wine glasses are from Marshall's and the golden water goblets (they are clean I swear!) are from Home Goods ($2.99 each).



My good flatware fits in with all the fruit very well.



I added a votive (purple tea light from Dollar Tree sitting on whole coffee beans), a faux artichoke (Ross) and  my place setting was complete.



I am always looking for interesting edges on  plates.



Sometimes you come across a piece and it's just love at first sight.  That's what happened at Marshall's with this gold pedestal bowl ($16.99).  It's made in Portugal and has interesting detail.  I'm sure I will use it again and again.  I bought a bag of faux fruit for $2 at GW.  This wasn't the cheap stuff and all the stickers were still on every piece of fruit.  It filled the bowl perfectly! Of course real fruit would have looked best but I didn't have enough on hand to fill the bowl. 





I decided at that point to just go for it and add some accessories to the table.  A pineapple water pitcher (Ross), 2 purple leaf plates with artichoke candles (Ross), a leaf and lemon dish (Tuesday Morning), watermelon salt and pepper from the Church thrift store and my favorite celery dish (was my mom's).











My mom used to serve celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese, sprinkled with paprika in this dish.  I did the same for my family (peanut butter stuffed too).  Are you supposed to match the food to the dish?

 Once again, I have to tell you how much fun it was to put this table together.  I did it while I was cooking dinner last night (my husband and I ate dinner at the breakfast bar!).  This room never gets direct sunlight so taking pictures is always a challenge.  They are somewhat presentable thanks to Picnik. 









Thank you for visiting and I love when you leave me a comment.   Don't listen to your parents advice, in this case it's okay to be a follower. You don't have to be a blogger either, you just need an  email  address.

 Remember to visit my sister, Elaine,  at Creating Wonderful Spaces.  The two of us have something special planned for sometime in November.  How's that for a teaser?

14 comments:

A Perfect Setting said...

Hi Robin! What great finds! I try to go to GW once a week, sometimes I find things, sometimes I don't. You lucked out, I'll have to say. I love the purple, and those placemats are adorable. I had to chuckle over your comment about the glasses. I have those artichoke votives and plan to use them soon. And the pineapple napkin rings are just precious!!Can't wait to see what you guys are cooking up for November, I'll stay tuned in!! Take care!

Elaine said...

Those are such rich colors! The placemats are so unusual, and you managed to pick up the best colors. I have not seen this color combination on anyone else's table!Too bad we don't live next door to each other. I have a great ceramic artichoke with no place to go. Beautiful, Robin!

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I love the purple. A perfect color combination! I love all the accent pieces too.
Blessings My Friend,

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

The artichokes make the table -- everything looks great!

Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

Scribbler said...

Thank you so much for visiting me -- I love to meet new blog friends. You have put together a beautifully composed table. I think I am going to have to start shopping at your 1/2 price GW! I don't think we have anything like that here.

Entertaining Women said...

Such a delightful melange of soft colors for Fall. You have a skillful eye for design. Thank you for inviting us to your table and for stopping by my tablescape. Have your ever checked out the Tablescaper's "Where Do You Store It All"? Your husband will be apoplectic! Cherry Kay

Heather at Farm to Fork said...

Hi Robin, thanks for visiting me. I love your square yellow plates. They were a good find. Your table is beautiful. :-)

Marigene said...

The golds and purples are such a great combo for a fall table...love your table, Robin.

Kathleen said...

Hi NJ Robin,
Love this, and so many interesting pieces! Great mix of colors too.
I went to Savers yesterday, but I don't so as well as you in the thrifts. Out here, forget it, you might as well buy new. I would think Fla would have a lot of good stuff donated by older people. I know when we sold my mom's place near Boca, we donated almost everything.
Have a great weekend! Raining here.

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

HI there! This is my first visit. I saw on your profile that you have moved to the west coast of Fl.! My in-laws lived there for 40 years! LOVE it there! Which town are you in? Then you said "Go Phillies"!!!! I am from Philly and now live in Landenberg, Pa.!!!! Small world! LOVE your bautiful table! I have the same artichoke votive holders! You sure find some good things at your GW! Ours never has a thing that is good! Have a great weekend, XO, Pinky

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

Thanks for writing back and following me! I don't know HOW these ladies get THOUSANDS of followers!!! I know whnere you are. My in-l;aws lived in Largo which is just south of Tampa and near Clearwater. XO, Pinky

Tess said...

So beautiful...all of the plates are all so pretty! And the eggplant color goes so well with the fall colors. Truly lovely table!

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Robin...

Oooh...your autumn table is gorgeous, my friend! Of course, you used some of my favorite colors. I love autumn...love all the rich, warm colors and your table is a fine display of that! Love, love, LOVE the placemats. I can certainly see how they inspired your beautiful table! Pulling the colors out of the placemats for your beautiful layered place settings! Wow...you got a great deal on the golden colored pedestal bowl! I agree...you will get lots of use out of this pretty piece! It looks gorgeous filled with the fruit!

Thank you for sharing your beautiful autumn table with us...it was such a treat! I also wanted to thank you for coming by and taking a peek at my autumn table this week! I sooo enjoyed your visit and sweet note, my friend!

Warmest autumn wishes,
Chari

Alycia Nichols said...

Hi, Robin! I am SO slow getting around to all the TT posts this week! I am glad to finally make it over to you!!! Those square plates you found on your 2nd lap are fabulous!!! (It usually takes me 2 or 3 laps through a store, too!) They were really well-priced, too!!! Hooray for you!!! Don't you just want to slap the color purple upside the head for the way it photographs sometimes??? I rarely can get it to photograph in its true hue. Maybe that's why I don't use it as often as I'd like. Mine usually turns out some crazy hue of blue. I really like your pineapple flatware!!!! The celery dish is pretty cool. I usually go against type and put something crazy in my veggie platters. Have you ever tried that Boursin herbed cheese that comes from Costco in celery? My friend served that when we were visiting, and I went ape snickers over it!!!I don't usually care for big chunks of raw celery, but I can eat it like that all day long! Great table, Miss Robin. Hope you've had a great weekend!!!