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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Birthday BBQ


Time for more weekly fun hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch! So many beautiful and unique tablescapes to check out every Thursday. I am very happy Susan continues to keep having this wonderful meme and that I can participate. Be sure to visit her blog and see for yourself the multitude of possibilities that make dining a delight!

This past weekend, Mr. Delight and I hosted a 40th birthday party for my dear sister-in-law. The weather was perfect so we decided to have a backyard BBQ for family and friends. In keeping with these fleeting days of summer, I made sure the tablescape reflected a bright colourful setting.



I used Gerbera daisies in yellow, orange and cream along with some green grasses (shhhh....all faux!) in vases I got at a local florists on clearance for $5. Alongside, I used some jars (minus the lids) as candleholders which I scored for$1 each. I put acrylic ice and a glass votive holder inside.My favourite Partylite sunflower tealight holders added some more colour.

I edited this pic to "protect the innocent" but inside two different frames, I placed small pictures of the birthday girl around the "Happy 40th!" These were placed at opposite sides of the table. Beside the frame, I placed a tall glass vase/candle holder with an orange taper dinner candle and sand to anchor it inside.

There were 13 of us in total and I didn't have quite enough of the items in the colours I wanted to use so had to mix/match everything from dishes to placemats to chargers to chairs but since it was a casual affair, I think it was okay. I see in these pics, I had 3 yellow plates together at this end of the table but I did mix those up a bit more before guests arrived!




Mr. Delight put up the extra canopy over the table but the "cabana" in the background is always there. We had pre-dinner drinks in the cabana and then moved over to the table once the hamburgers and salads were ready.

The food was set up on our small sundeck. We had BBQ'ed hamburgers with fixings as well as some BBQ'ed salmon filets and bratwurst sausages.

Salads were brought "potluck" and were potato, pasta, bean salsa, toasted pecan/balsamic vin., and carrot. There was also some yummy Pesto Pear/Chicken Pizza that a friend brought...must get that recipe!
Having a BBQ is such a "summer-y" thing to do and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate our SIL's birthday with one shared by friends and family. Thanks for stopping by...wish you could have been at the party!
DD

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Sunny Yellow/Green Tablescape


For those of you who viewed my Harley Davidson Tablescape from July 26th and the follow up post of Aug.7th , you know Mr. Delight and I did not make it to Sturgis on our motorcycle trip as we had a bit of an accident when we hit some gravel on a dirt road in Saskatchewan. Thankfully, we are on the mend and since there is no better therapy for me than tablescaping, I am participating in Tablescape Thursday brought to you by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

As a get-well gift, my DD gave me some lovely summer looking green/yellow plaid napkins with white napkin rings. I chose to use the napkins as placemats and put other white napkins in the holders. I find large napkins are so versatile as they don't have to be used as just napkins.



I had the perfect dishes to go with them too! For a sunny look, I used my favourite yellow "Superstore" dishes mix/matching with the green set. I got these dishes a few years back at the super price of $11 for a 16 pc setting!


I created a centerpiece using a green footed bowl filled with faux hydrangeas and ivy. I flanked this with two brass candleholders with glass peglites (both by Partylite)

Let the sun shine in!


The more I looked around the house, the more items I found in these colours so this tablescape was totally created with things I already owned.

I filled two yellow flower pots with decorative stones and placed white pillar candles inside. These were put on yellow woven placemats with a white doily to bring more white to the table. A little birdie on each end completes the look!





See the tiny little ladybug on the edge of the sunflower tealight holder. You will notice in the very first picture, there is a butterfly on the edge of that one. These holders are from Partylite and are some of my favourites.





Evening draws near...the days are getting shorter and summer will soon be just a memory.


Capture these moments to recall on the darkest winter night...


Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out all the other fabulous tablescapes on BNOTP and join in the celebration of Susan's one year anniversary! It seems like she has been around a lot longer than one year...so much popularity in such a short time!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Not According to Plan....

As mentioned in my Harley Davidson Tablescape Thursday post of a couple weeks ago, Mr. Delight and I had headed out on our motorcycle for a road trip to Sturgis, South Dakota. Prior to going south, we rode across the prairies and visited a number of small towns where I used to live in Saskatchewan. We were having such a wonderful time and loving every minute of it. We live in the mountains here in B.C. and the prairies offered such a different landscape than what we are used to.


We took a wrong turn and ended up on a secondary dirt road on our way to Kipling, Saskatchewan, the little town where I was born. Mr. Delight has handled a lot of dirt/gravel roads in the 26 years we have been motorcycling but we came upon 4 inches of pea gravel with no warning and he lost control of the bike. Suffice it to say that instead of taking a picture of the hospital where I was born, we ended up being patients there. Mr. Delight suffered a fractured clavicle and I sustained some fractured ribs along with bumps and bruises. It could have been much worse and thanks be to God that it wasn't. All of the "prairie people" were so helpful and went out of their way to care for us and make sure our bike got shipped back to B.C. for repairs. We are at home mending now but already planning to make it to Sturgis next year!