PD, I'll try. Not sure that I even have anything all of you have not seen already, I'll have to see what I can pull together. Luvs

Yes, I will too...May 1st is good! I don't have anything for Derby Day..

OK, PD. I'll do May Day too. I'll have to think about it a bit.

Kathleen, how'd the countertops come out?

I dont even know where to begin for May Day or Derby Day. But, I am looking forward to all your tables!!

Mo

I knew if I waited to see what others posted I'd probably not post. So I'm starting.
At first I tried to dream up a tablesetting with a Russian International Workers Day theme, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. Maybe I'll keep my eye out for some little toy tanks at yard sales and use them next year.
But this year . . .
My daughter and my kinder and first grade granddaughters will *dine* with me. I'm planning to serve (hold on to your hats!) grilled cheese sandwiches, chopped fruit (heavy on the strawberries), pretend tea (apple juice), a few potato wedges, pickle and ice cream for dessert.

Now, about the tablecloth that looks like it wasn't ironed: It was, but obviously not very well and I wasn't taking it back inside to do it again. You probably didn't know this, but when I die and go to heaven, God is going to give me my own personal ironing angel to do all the ironing for me. It will be sort of a reward for lugging an iron all across the country when we were on vacation when the kids were young - even Europe!

Another tidbit: As I recently mentioned in another post, I'm not a big fan of pink. So how did I end up with a pink tablecloth???? Yep! The same way you ended up with a few pink items. I washed a white tablecloth with a set of red napkins - a little mistake that I have to admit I've done more than once. Actually, I think it came out rather well considering "surprise tie-dye" usually turns out blotchy, heavy in some spots and light in others.
Well, just thought I'd throw out that little bit of worthless information in case you wanted to get a pink tablecloth and were wondering where I bought mine.
Hope you like the Maypole.
OA

OA, I forgot to mention that I LOVE your china. I am a pink person, so it is truly something that I drool over. I had pink everywhere before our remodel two years ago.

Remember the garden party setting in "My Fair Lady"? That is another fave movie. I just love that part of the movie. They are all dressed up in their finery and all the hats and the "civilized and proper behavior" and then Eliza opens her mouth! Gotta love it.

I wanted to have a Derby party with everyone all dressed up, but no one wanted to play. Oh well, it is for the best since I am even lagging behind on a table.

May Day.....

I finally got to do a little table with the red and white dishes from Neiman Marcus via TJMAXX...I found 2 place settings, and called 10 other stores. Finally in one over 80 miles away I found them. My dear dau in law, who has 4 little ones, was kind enough to run over and pick up 4 more place settings for me...she knew I NEEDED them..:) The 3 year old told her to hurry up and get them before someone else did..this child definitely shares my shopping blood!
So here they are...

The tassels on the napkins are from WSonoma and marked down to .26! The little butter dishes were also on sale , 50% off, so 2.50...

The wine glasses were my mom's, and it you look, it almost looks like the tassel from the plate in the etching.

This compote set was a gift from an older couple we met on our honeymoon cruise 38 yrs ago. They came to our house for a visit and brought me this. I love the delicate etchings and curves . They always told the story of the look on my face when I saw we were at a table with everyone over 60...I was in my early 20's! But they were wonderful and we stayed in touch for many years.

I used this with flowers for the centerpiece..I wanted to float some roses in it, but didn't have any!

I love the little toile like pattern on the cup....

The silverware is from the very exclusive CTS, (Christmas Tree Shops) :) I have never had any colored silverware..so this is a first. DH never notices anything, but he DID ask where I got it..
I think he fears another addiction coming on! :(

My dear gdau is making her First Communion soon, and I will make 50 breads for the guests to take home. Some will be Banana, and others Lemon. So I tried one of the recipes for Lemon..
I am doing the centerpieces too, so my brain is on overtime thinking about what to do..

Here they are cooling..

And after the glaze and dressed up with a pansy...

OA, as soon as I heard some were doing tables for May Day, I thought of how someone might do a "May pole" and YOU did an excellent take on it! What a terrific centerpiece and I like how it is reflected in your mirror. Your china is very pretty and seems "spring-like". Looks like a nice area where you have set up your table...is it a covered deck, porch or gazebo?

Kathleen, I love those red/white dishes, just so pretty and your tablescape is striking. Your Battenburg (?) tablecloth and napkins give a nice soft vintage feel to the setting. That compote set is lovely and what a great memory you have attached to it. I really like your red handled flatware too. Yummmm, that lemon loaf looks fabulous! I can just taste the sweet/tart flavour! Great work!

DD

Kathleen,
What wonderful stories you have attached to your dishes. Isn't it great to be able to think of that couple every time you use the compotes or imagine your mother smiling about how her stemware goes so will with the plates and tassel napkin rings! You even have a story for your new TJMAXX dishes. Your little granddaughter must be a real character to say such a thing at the age of only three.

It's easy to see why you are so passionate about the red tassel plates. There'd be a tug-of-war going on if we ended up standing over them in the same store. They're just my style too. And hey, I just ordered some colored flatware too, although mine has no real detail on the handles, so I like yours much better.

Speaking of Communion, I need to get to Confession and mumble something about coveting my neighbor's goods.

You know, I've seen food placed out with flower petals in magazines and always liked it, but for some reason I've never thought to do it myself. Now I'm going to do that the very next chance I get. The charm, the hook, the appeal of a tablesetting is really in the little things, isn't it?

Well done.
OA

Back to comment on OA's table. My internet service was sporadic and I wanted to get my table up for May 1st..
OA, I love your May pole! And the story of how your cloth turned pink rings a bell here. DH didn't care for his pink tee shirts, however.
The dishes are so pretty,what kind are they?? They are perfect for a table for lunch with the "girls". I am sure they enjoyed the menu too!
It is funny you mention about the Russian tanks..I remember when I was a kid my dad saying something about the absurdity of having May Day celebrations , you know, communism in a democracy..:)
So skip the tanks!
And isn't the hole in a cake made in a tube pan made to fill with flowers??
PS..it was my 3 yo old grandson who made the comment...
And then he wanted to throw them like a frisbee!

OA, as usual you have me ROFLMAO! But, I do love your May Day table. The May pole is a wonderful idea for a centerpiece and you've pulled it off beautifully. Your grandkids are going to love it! What a fun grandma you must be.

Kathleen, if I were a practicing Catholic, I'd be at confession right along with OA, confessing my sin of coveting my neighbor's goods. Love, love, love your red & white dishes! The cups are perfect with them, too.

I remember dancing around a May pole when I was in grade school. I also remember that the boys were hopeless in trying to get the ribbons properly crossed. Our teachers used to get so frustrated (LOL!). In past years, I've occasionally made up small baskets of fresh flowers to hang on my friends' front doorknobs as surprise gifts (another old May Day custom). I may try a quick one for a centerpiece, but I have to confess that our Friday dinners are ALWAYS pizzas that DH picks up on his way home from the office. We eat on (plain white)paper plates in front of the tv while watching a movie . . . tonight's will be "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks, which I picked up yesterday at Target for $5. Hmmmmmm, maybe I should make a May Day centerpiece for the family room coffee table ;^P
I don't have a thing for Derby Day and am saving what little storage space I have left for some more Summer and Autumn decs. I'll be waiting to see what you all make for Derby Day, though. Sounds like fun!
Anyhoo, Happy May Day to you all!

Lynn

Happy May Day one and all!!! Yes, I am coveting the red and white dishes as well, but Kathleen already knows that!!
And I won't even mention the wonderful lemon breads...yum!!!!
OA your table is really pretty and I love the maypole! A funny story for you.... A LONG time ago when my kidlets were small, we were planning a maypole for a centerpiece on a mothers' day table at church. We thought and thought about what to use, until my ever inventive DS says "I know, lets use a toilet plunger". We all laughed so hard and he was so insulted....makes me laugh all over again to think about it!

OA, I love your May Pole, what a great idea. I would have never thought to do that. Your whole table is so springy & pretty, just perks up my mood to see it.

It has rained here so much lately, so gloomy & no sun, that your table has brightened my mood!

Sorry to be late. I worked everyday this week and a couple of night meetings. I usually only work a couple of days and I am exhausted. I didn't really have time to work on this much. It seems that I can't get past the basics of this. However, I am having fun acquiring dishes that I like, and it is great to not be eating in front of the t.v. all the time.
May 1 was my late Mom and Dad's anniversary. This was an appropriate day for me to spend time enjoying dishes since my Mom loved them so much.

{{gwi:1421316}}

I actually had set out some other dishes to use (two different one since I couldn't decide what looked more like May. I had debated on how to make a May pole earlier in the week and gave up on the idea. I also had a hat ready to use in the center of a Derby table, but couldn't decide how to pull it together. I had lots of red roses, but no dishes that went with this and I couldn't find a statute of a horse that looked fitting. So, I was back to May Day. Then I got busy and just didn't get it together. This afternoon as I was headed home after substituting, I stopped by the crisis center TS to look around. I found these dishes and decided that I really liked the colors and that they had that "lusty look of May" look for me. The glassware I had bought a few weeks ago at Goodwill. I already had the placemats and napkins. The melon colored linen napkin that is under the dinner plate was someething that I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond after Christmas on a clearance shelf. I also have a table cloth, but it is 104 inches, so too big for the smaller table. I think it would be a nice look with these dishes though.

Very pretty, PD. I like the accent of the napkin under the plate, and the napkins in the glasses are lovely..
Good job, and I hope you had fun..
If anyone is going to do a Cinco de Mayo table, please start a NEW thread so it doesn't get lost...

Printer, your table does look "springy" and very fitting for May. I really like the colour of the napkins under the plates. The layering of them on the placemats is a great idea to add more colour and looks very pretty. Everything goes well together, the flowers on the plate are a perfect match for the melon coloured napkins and your centerpiece. Glad you had fun doing it when it sounds like you were so busy this week!
I always tie up/pin the corners of long tablecloths with ribbons/silk flowers when using them on smaller tables - works great and gives a nice decorative look to the table as well.

DD

PD,
Very nice. Did you already have the centerpiece? It's a perfect match for your "new" dishes. Don't you just love thrift shops? I can make a half dozen visits in a row to one and I won't see a thing that interests me, and the next time I visit the place, two or three things are screaming at me to take them home. What a lucky find on the very day you needed them.
Using the peach(?) napkins as second placemats really brings out the flowers in the plates. I think the flowers wouldn't have stood out as much had you not added the napkins.

Dining D, that's a great tip about the tablecloth. I'm often frustrated about have the perfect tablecloth in terms of color, but not in terms of size. Thanks for sharing that tip.

I remember your hint about tablecloths and considered trying. But, I didn't have anything to tie it up with. Also, it was still in the package and I would have had to do some serious ironing and I was running late. I'll have to give this a try and get the kinks worked out of the system.

The centerpiece actually also came from the same TS. I have bought several there and am always amazed at the cheap prices and how pretty they are. They told me earlier that they are always getting silk flowers and accessories that are loose. Several of the volunteers there do a lot of floral arranging, so they put together centerpieces from the baskets, vases and odds and ends. I keep finding things that I like and buying them for future use. The problem is that ones like this one and the sunflower one I used on the Earth Day table are so big, that they will be a challenge to store. They also are so big that a fourth person couldn't sit across from it without being hidden. Most times it is just DH and me at evening meals, so this is not a problem. When DD is home, she just has to peek around the tall ones, or I move them when we eat.

Now that I already have two other springy sets of dishes out of the cabinet, I guess I will have to use them soon. I have all my dishes housed in a large cabinet in the garage and I have to renegoiate the layers of different places, move things around to find the glasses I want, etc. everytime I need or want something. So, I guess I just need to use these while they are out. Maybe I will have DD do a table for Mother's Day.

Now, ot to find a table for my screened porch, so that I can have a Cinco celebration meal.

LynninNM,
You'll never guess what I just came across on the internet. May 15 is National Pizza Day. I checked right away, and sure enough, this year the 15th falls on a Friday.
May I suggest a pizza box for your centerpiece, cans of soda in place of stemware, and paper napkins for linens. You're all set. Do take a photograph and post your lovely holiday tablesetting.

OA

I tie up the ends too. Mainly because it is hard to find an oval cloth 70 x 144 for the dining room.
I use ribbon, tassels, or even some napkin rings work.
You can see it in this pic..I layered 2 cloths..

Kathleen, how nice to see that tablescape again...it is just beautiful! So much attention to detail, love the bows on the chairs too. (Ahhh Christmas, seems like it was yesterday!LOL!) And it is a good example of what to do with long tablecloths (or if you want to layer them).

I looked through my pics and found this one where the pink cloth wasn't long enough to go to the floor (and it was oblong not a round one) so I put a white (also not long enough) one under, pulling it forward on one side and pinned the corners adding the faux tulips.

DD

I love that one DD. looks so romantic..I remember it, by the fire..so cozy!

Oh, both of those are beautiful! I love the look of the layered tablecloths. Thanks for the inspiration and a visual to go with it. I am very visual and need to see it.

I need to see things too, PD..pic is worth 1000 words! LOL

Oh wow..I can't believe how late I came, to seeing all of this. You all did such amazing jobs.

OA...Your Dtr and Gdtrs..must have felt so special sitting at that beautiful table. YOur floral centerpiece with the streaming ribbons is just lovely, as well as that pretty china. I enjoyed the 'dying tip' on your Pink tablecloth...Priceless!!

Kathleen...just beautiful. What a treasure, to own your mother's stems..they are really lovely. I enjoyed your story about your honeymoon..and how you acquired that beautiful compote..that too is special.

PD...I love your spring table and the peach color. I too, like how you put the napkin under the plate, it makes the colors of the flowers on your plates, just pop, and the centerpiece sets it all of very nicely.

DD...You set the most romantic fireside tablescapes. I sigh everytime you show one. I love the layered look of your tablecloths and placemats. Everything looks perfect..just like a magazine.

I have a tip on tablecloth wrinkles. I take a damp towl and a couple of fabric softner sheets and pop them in the dryer with my tablecloth. Run for a few minutes...and presto...the wrinkles practically smooth away.
jane

I 2nd everything Jane said, all the tables are so pretty and creative.

OA, I love your pretty rose china, so soft and feminine looking. And you pulled the Maypole idea off so well. Jaybird, that was creative thinking on the part of your DH, and as long as it was a "new" plunger--why not? ;o)

PD, I am very impressed with how you coordinated everything to your dishes so perfectly! Great job, gal, you should be very proud of yourself, it turned out lovely.

Kathleen, those red dishes are great. I hadn't seen the cups before, but the design on them is so pretty. I love that they are a different, coordinating pattern. You have sure found some lovely dishes this year.

Luvs

OA, you keep me laughing and boy do I need that most evenings with Fibro pain so bad. Thank you!
Your May Pole turned out wonderful. And beautiful china!
Your table too, Printer.

I'm not remotely a fan of pinks or peaches, or any pastels, but I sure see a lot on this Forum that have me often wondering WHY. I'm slowly being converted obviously.
Those peach napkins really set off the plates, Printer.

Kathleen, I'm so glad you were able to get more of those dishes you wanted.

I am very unhappy with "Self". I'd have loved doing a DERBY table cause I have lots of horse stuff, LOL. But unfortunately not a clue how to set a table. Why don't you guys rub off on me, I've sure looked at beautiful tables on here long enough. Several years. And saved notes from Judith's tutoring. I must have mental blocks when it comes to setting tables!! I sit there looking at my stuff...I have LOTS of stuff.. going "duh, what now".

Karen who's clueless in Phoenix

Karen,
I have been wondering about your health these days. I don't like hearing that you are so uncomfortable. What do the doctors say?

I'd don't seem to have a direct line to God, but you're in my prayers. If He's tuned in most nights, he hears my list and you're on it. Do keep us informed.

You and I are on the same page when it comes to pink. The china (KPM "Normandie") that I used on the May Table was inherited from my mother. She had what she called a dessert set (square plates, larger than salad plates but smaller than dinner plates) and a large square bowl in the pattern for years. She LOVED them. Then, one day when she was in her mid sixties, she walked into a consignment shop and there was the whole set, place settings for 12 and a number of serving pieces. She thought she'd died and gone to heaven. For some reason, the store hadn't had any nibbles on the dishes and when she asked them to call the owner to see if she'd come down in price, she got them for a song. I use them from time-to-time now and think of her delight when she called to tell me about finding them. I think I have a little granddaughter that is going to be a "pink person" even when she's grown, so they will be appreciated again some day, in the same way my mama did.

I think I've seen some of your horse collection. It's super. And aren't you the one with that wonderful merry-go-round horsie??? You could do a great Derby table without half trying. When you start to feel better, I'm going to start bugging you. Just start by slappin' down the dishes and settin' a few hoses on the table. Add a few roses (Run for the Roses?) and you're done!

OA

WOW, WOW, WOW

You ladies have it all figured out, there is so much talent here. I don't have time to post to each of your tables, now that I spent all this time reading but I know where to come if I have any questions about setting a beautiful table.

You gals should be in magazines, no I mean your tables should be. You seem to know what it takes to put them together and the food looks divine. Punk

OA, yes I have the Dentzl reproduction life-size, Carousel Horse. In my living-room. Plus a large collection of the Trail of Painted Ponies figurines. Over 100 of them. And some other horse statues. (I use to have real horses and was a cowgirl. LOL.) I've loved horses since I was 2 yrs old, tho haven't been on in 25 yrs. Still miss that.
As for the Fibro, doctors tell you "learn to live with it".
There's no cure. I had plateaued for a dozen years and was doing ok, the last few years its worsened till I'm nearly housebound most days. And last few months the Fibro Flare has been even worse and I've let it make me a vegetable.
Not getting much done. Major pain, 24/7, does not make one very much fun. Or productive. This computer and my two Forums pretty much get me thru the long nights of no sleep.
So I appreciate all the laughter, support, beautiful photos, and "family" atmosphere of Holidays and Garden Junk.
I don't know what I'd do without you guys.
OA, if you want to bug me, you may as well start now. LOL, cause I'm not going to "get better". You can NAG, that would go along with my horse theme.
Here's "Moon Dancer" again.
{{gwi:1421318}}

hugs, Karen