As long as I can remember, I have loved setting the table. (My mom might disagree with that statement.) I set the table for every meal I am not eating alone. Even when I am at a fast food restaurant, I have been caught placing the knife to the right. Blade in. I don't like a nicely set table, because of formality. I like to set the table, because I appreciate the ceremony that goes along with eating a meal. I think we should congregate at the dinner table more and having a pretty place setting makes you want to linger. And it just looks nice.
Setting the table is kind of like getting dressed. Just as you wouldn't leave the house without pants, you also wouldn't set the table without a knife, fork, plate, etc. But then comes the fun part. The accessories! Pretty napkin rings, candles, place cards, place mats! There are so many options and you can reivent your same-old-same-old "outfits" by adding new accessories.
I had a couple of my dear friends over for dinner last night. It gave me an excuse to get the jewelry off of my kitchen table for the first time in months. It felt good. If you were to join me for dinner, this is what the table would look like. I am on the hunt for placemats that fit my small table, but other than that, I love this particular place setting. The plates came from a VERY fabulous boutique in Athens, Greece is for Lovers. I carried them all the way home. The napkin rings were a gift from my sister. The napkins came from a dear friend in Montana (who knows my style very well!). The candles are from Glacier County Honey, of course. And the glasses came from one of my favorite "deal-of-the-day" websites, One Kings Lane. Us lemon lovers like a good deal.
Thanks to my friends for coming over and sharing a meal with me at my table. Hopefully, the pretty place setting made you want to linger at the table. For the foodies in the group, we had Moroccan spiced beef tenderloin (I had to watch a video on how to trim and tie a whole tenderloin and it ended up being rather tiny when I was done. Note to self.), nutted pilaf with dates, green bean/tomato/hearts of palm/kalamata olive salad, and brownies with raspberry gelato and blueberries. There may have also been some Veuve Clicquot and V. Sattui Syrah, but nobody's talking.
The sign of a good evening!
