Robin Flies South...

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

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mardi Gras Make Believe

It's Fat Tuesday and the eyes of the country are on New Orleans and Mardi Gras.  I've never been there but today I am getting in the spirit with my tablescape!  What a fun color combination of green, purple and gold! 


I had a tough time getting my purples to photograph purple instead of brown.  I finally had to resort to using my flash and then fixing them with Picnik.  I always run my pictures through Picnik anyway and at least the colors look more true.  Who wants to see muddy brown for a Mardi Gras table? 


My placemat is from Ross and I love the cut out border.


When I picked up these green chargers on clearance at Walmart (.49!) I intended to paint them but then realized I could use them today.  I'm still not sure what color to paint them.


On top of the charger I added my gold dinner plate and a square dish (on sale at Old Time Pottery).  I'm a little obsessed with square dishes lately! 




For the centerpiece I took a purple glass vase (Ross), filled it with gold beads to hide the stems and added every "feather" I had in my house!  The peacock feathers are new from Z Gallerie (you will see them again with some dishes I couldn't resist).


The napkins and napkin rings are both Goodwill finds.


I wish I had gold flatware but had to settle for my Cambridge pearl handled set (Ross).


My glass choice was pretty obvious!


Ok, I know they aren't from THE Pat O'Brien's!  Last spring we were in Orlando for the weekend with good friends and they wanted us to eat at Pat O'Brien's at Universal City Walk.  We had a great time and I had my first gumbo and drank my first Hurricane.  You are allowed to take the glass home as a souvenir (no, really, you are!) and we managed to bring home 6 glasses!



I picked up a few things at Dollar Tree (beads, masks and coins).


Most of the time I try to avoid the reflections on my glass topped table but I thought this looked pretty interesting! 



Growing up in NJ, Fat Tuesday meant going to the Pancake Supper at Church, not exactly the same thing as going to a wild parade in New Orleans.  Never the less, it's fun to vicariously enjoy the celebrations of other parts of the country!  Have a great night, whatever your plans may be. 

Be sure to visit my sister's blog as she says farewell to winter at Creating Wonderful Spaces!

I will be joining the party at Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. and Tabletop Tuesday at a Stroll thru Life














14 comments:

Karen said...

Love your tablescape! So colorful. Interesting about the purples and browns.. but you did well fixing that. Love the colors!
Karen
Ladybug Creek

Tea in Texas said...

I was so excited to see your Mardi Gras tablescape. I love the purple, green and gold colors. Your placemats are pretty and what a great price! The Pat O'Brien glassware are so great with your table. The reason I was so excited was because I also did a Mardi Gras theme this week and your table is just beautiful. Thanks for the great ideas. Happy Tea Party! Pam

Nancy's Daily Dish said...

What a fun and festive table!
I loved reading about the Fat Tuesday you had growing up! Not quite the same as the New Orleans one, but probably much better for you! =)

Nancy

Elaine said...

Always love to see purple, but I know it's not easy to photograph. I think you did a great job! I have never seen those placemats before, but they are very eye-catching. What great napkins and rings, too! Very festive table!

Unknown said...

Love your table! Joann

Rose Maria Simoes said...

Beautiful color combinations!!

Diane said...

Love your table and I totally understand about photographing purple. My Mardi Gras table really tried to be blue! I did manage to shoot enough pictures that showed purple to finish my blog. Hope your Fat Tuesday was great!

A Perfect Setting said...

Hi Robin! What a cute table! We never knew much about Mardi Gras growing up, but I love the purple and green colors together. Gosh, those purple chargers are really cool, hmm I wonder if they still have them. Anyway, love the feathers, beads, masks, so festive and fun, great job!!

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

How fun this is. I did a Mardi Gras table this week as well. We're not Mardi Gras country....loved finding goodies at Dollar Tree. Your tabletop celebration looks wonderful.

A Cottage in the Clouds said...

Very pretty table. You did a great job photographing the purple. Love the placemats.

PAT said...

Beautiful! Love your Mardi Gras table.

Tammy @ A Walk in the Countryside said...

Don't you just love the Dollar Tree for those extra holiday touches? Great job!

Kathleen said...

Very festive! It is hard to get purple not to look like brown, but I don't fix my pics, takes too long!
We don't celebrate MG either , just a blog event for me! Just a reminder to me that Lent begins the next day.
Enjoy your week in paradise! All you Southerners will be doing Spring while we won't feel Spring for at least 6 weeks! Remember when you lived in NJ we often has snow for Easter!

Alycia Nichols said...

I am laughing at how you tried to clean it up by saying "we" managed to bring home 6 glasses. It's OK, Robin. You can say it: YOU finished off 6 of those hurricanes on your own!!! :-) They are so good, aren't they? I made some at home this year, and the first one just about put me out for the night. They really sneak up on you! Now that you have your authentic hurricane glasses from Pat O'Brien's, you'll have to make them at home. They're a great summer drink!!! And this was the first time you ever ate gumbo?!?!?! Really??!??!! Oh, my goodness!!! It's really good. I hope you were able to also enjoy a beignet or two...maybe with a cup of chicory coffee! I'm a Midwesterner born and bred, but we have always celebrated Mardi Gras! Neat table, and you did a good job with getting the colors right. Purple is one of the craziest colors in the rainbow to photograph! :-( I heard that Piknik is shutting down, though. What will you do now? And what about these plates you were unable to resist that the peacock feathers will work so well with? Z Gallerie?!?!??! Uh oh!!!!!!! :-) You GO, girl!!!