Flowers, Feast or Famine!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday.  I know I did, but I could have used a little less calories and a little less golf watching!  If you want a sure fire way to blow your diet, just make this carrot cake HERE and I guarantee it will do the trick.  I made it for Easter and it was very easy to make and indescribably good.  The aroma of this cake baking in the oven will transport you to Food Heaven!  Oh well, holidays just wouldn't be the same without all the great food, right?

I have mentioned before on this blog, that in my perfect world I would have fresh flowers in this house every week (or every day!).  This week I wound up with two bunches of flowers!  Right after I picked some up at Publix, my daughter walks in carrying a much more impressive bunch as an Easter gift from her and my son.  I knew eventually I would get a payback for all those Easter baskets every year!  Thanks kids!  You will also know from reading this blog, that I can never leave well enough alone so for this week's tablescape I combined flowers from both arrangements and added some greens from my yard.  I am completely clueless when it comes to flower arranging so I just stick them in and hope for the best.

The pot is from Ross and the design just says Spring to me with the birds and flowers!

Ross is a great place to pick up ceramic pots.  They are about half of what you would pay at Lowe's or Home Depot and a little less than Home Goods.  Their selection was particularly good this season.

I spent way too much time this morning trying different combinations of plates and colors before deciding to let the flowers be the star of the table.  That's just one of the reasons I love my white dishes.  They are happy to be a neutral to spring flowers, a beautiful tablecloth or sparkling glass ware.  (Uh oh, now I'm imagining my dishes have feelings!)

My dishes are Federalist Ironstone and belonged to my mother.  The chargers are originally from Pier One, found at Goodwill and given a coat of ivory spray paint. 

The purple place mat is from Ross and don't tell anyone but it's actually vinyl (shhh!).  I don't care because I liked the leafy edge it has.

One of the best places to pick up inexpensive napkins is Old Time Pottery.  I love that these have a different pattern on each side.  They were only $1 each!

I used my Cambridge flatware that I found at Ross just before Thanksgiving.  It sells for almost 4 times as much on Ebay.  I could only find one set here in Florida but I immediately texted my sister when I found it and she was able to get a set in Colorado.   She kept it for herself (one of the disadvantages of having your sister be a fellow tablescaper!). I'm still on the lookout for more though.

My wine glass are from Marshall's and the water glasses were a GW find.

I was a little slow getting on the "purple train" but now I can't seem to get off! 

The candlesticks are another GW find and the purple tapers came from a thrift store where they were selling a big box of unused tapers in great colors.

The candle rings came from a gift store here in my town called the Rustic Rose that I have told you about before. 

I didn't have to buy anything new for this table so it was really rewarding to see how nicely it came together with things I had.  Let's face it, it's hard to go wrong when Mother Nature is helping you out (fresh flowers!) 

I have a confession to make...I am in complete denial with the whole Picnik situation.  I know I should be familiarizing myself with  other sites but I just can't do it yet.  For fun I decided to try some different effects with Picnik on some of these pictures.  Like playing with a toy that you have to give away! 

Thanks you for stopping by and I hope you can use some of my tablescaping tips in your home!  I love to read your comments and maybe you could suggest your favorite alternative to Picnik.  I would appreciate it immensely!  And even if you don't want to make the carrot cake now, be sure to Pin it, add it to your favorites or go "old school" and print it out for your recipe box.  You won't be sorry!

Be sure to visit my sister at Creating Wonderful Spaces.

I will be linking up to the following parties...

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Let's Dish! at Cuisine Kathleen

Centerpiece Wednesday at the Style Sisters

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants