Robin Flies South...

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

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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

















18 comments:

ellen b. said...

Love your table and how you just stick those flowers in and hope for the best. They look real good! :0)
The layering of the plates, charger, and placemats is very nice.

Mary said...

Hi Robin~ I love your beautiful pot filled with flowers at your table! I'm afraid I never have any luck at Ross! Thanks for the tip for OTP for napkins~ we have one that I'll have to make a special trip to visit when I'm on the side of town it's on. I use Picasa for all my photo editing~ they have lots of effects, guaranteed to make you lose all track of time playing with them :)

Shirley@Housepitality Designs said...

Your table is beautiful...love the colors..gorgeous!!
Love the flatware..reminds me of Vietri...beautiful...

Marlis said...

Your purple is so pretty. Love that your got double flowers! They really are pretty.. well my dishes have feelings and some just don't understand that Christmas comes but once a year! Love the napkins too. xo marlis

Alycia Nichols said...

I never used Picnik because by the time I found out about it, it was on its way out! I have been using Picasa for making collages, but I don't much care for it and wish I could find something better. I have never tried any of the other effects it provides. I really like the pot you used for the centerpiece, Robin. It has a neat flair to it and goes so well with the pretty flowers. You got those napkins at OTP? I have never seen any that look that nice here in the Kansas City area! Those here are pretty cheesy, as are most of their placemats. They have also stopped restocking their napkin rings which makes me think they're going to phase them out altogether. That would be really bad...I have bought several styles there that I really, really like at very reasonable prices!

Debbie said...

I only wish I could figure out how to do the nifty things with photos. However, I am all thumbs.

I am exactly like you in that I would love to have fresh flowers in the house all the time. My husband knows that and brings them often.

I LOVE your flowers! They are the perfect focal point to that table, and I agree that the white dishes let them shine. And I love your napkins. I need to find and Old Time Pottery around here. There isn't one that I know of.

Kathleen said...

I think we took the same train this week with the purple! The flowers are gorgeous, and crown your lovely table. That is a fabulous price for double sided napkins! We don't have a Ross, and CTS isn't great for napkins! So you win!
Thanks for linking to Let's Dish!

Aledia said...

Beautiful Setting!!

I just LOVE that little pot from Ross and I love shopping at the Old Time Pottery Store!!

Purple is my favorite color!

I use Picasa as well for my pictures, they have just updated to Picasa 3.9 and it has a lot more features than before.

Have a great night!
Aledia

xinex said...

Everything looks so pretty. The flowers are gorgeous and the layer of plates are beautiful.I love the colors too...Christine

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

What a beautiful table Robin! I feel the same as you about having flowers in the house. I love having them inside! Your ironstone dishes are wonderful...Regarding the carrot cake...my husband made that recipe for Easter and I am definitely not weighing myself this week! I posted about it here: http://diydesignfanatic.blogspot.com/2012/04/caro.html

Marigene said...

I am loving the purple tables this week...just gorgeous, Robin. Everything is beautiful, from the flatware, to the napkins to those lovely flowers in that adorable pot.

Elaine said...

Your flowers are so pretty! I prefer flowers that look like they were just picked and placed in a vase. Love the napkins and the placemats are pretty no matter what they are made of! Mom's dishes look great! I have those same clear glasses!

Sarah said...

Robin, the details of this table are lovely. Like you, fresh flowers in the house are a top priority for me. ~ Sarah

eleven-o-one said...

Your table looks great! I love fresh flowers, too. It is always great to meet fellow Floridian bloggers. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I'm your newest follower. (But...GO RAYS!)
Fran

FABBY'S LIVING said...

The flowers in purple are gorgeous in the darling pot, just crowned your simple and yet beautiful table setting. I love your style, and fresh flowers I must have every week at home... so if I haven't followed you, than now I am a new follower! Hope you'd like to visit me and follow too. Enjoy a fun week.
FABBY

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Great table and I would say you did perfect just putting the flowers in the vase and it was sweet of your kids to bring flowers. Thanks for sharing.

PAINTORDIG.blogspot.com said...

Beautiful table and flowers.There is nothing like fresh flowers. I use Picassa for myu photos-mainly because it is so easy.

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Love the beautiful purple and lilac colors and the flowers are stunning. So nice to use floral napkins also. Beautiful tablescape. Thanks so much for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty