At the Beach...in my mind!

Summertime and the living is busy! But I did manage to whip up a summery, beachy tablescape! I was actually at the beach last weekend and hated to leave, so it's always fun to have a little beach at home!

I started with a white tablecloth and added light blue ruffled place mats. Then I used turquoise metallic chargers topped with white Gibson Claremont plates and finally turquoise capiz shell bread and butter plates.I also used Colonial Shell flatware and ruffled seersucker napkins with white napkin rings.

My centerpiece is a sparkly, beaded placemat topped with a large melamine shell bowl from Target (years ago) filled with blue marbles, shells and a cute crab!

My fish salt and pepper shakers and seashell place card holders complete the table.

Even my tea cart gets a beachy makeover!

It's a little hard to see but the mantle is done very simply with a light blue vase full of bubbly looking silvery pearl stems and silver mercury glass candle holders and light blue candles.

I will be sharing this with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Have a Crabby Fourth!

I can't believe the Fourth of July is just around the corner! I don't know what kind of holiday you are going to have but I am going to have a Crabby Fourth!



I will be linking with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and Tea Time Tuesday.

I started with my Flag Day Table that I shared last week (Click Here to see). But I found these cute crab plates at Target and low and behold they looked great on the Flag Day plates!



I kept the same tablecloth, place mats, Colonial shell flatware and clear stemware. But I used red and white striped paper napkins from Target which have a light blue crab on them.



I used a large clam shaped bowl that I got at Target years ago and filled it with light blue vase filler marbles. Then I added 3 red candles and a small crab (actually a spreader) and used this as my centerpiece.



I added various crab items that I had collected through the years (OK, the "cracker" is a lobster, but it's all in the crustacean family!)







The round object above is meant to be a child's sippy cup, but I thought it could hold melted butter or tartar sauce.

On the mantle, I added some Target paper lantern shades.





And I added a small crab plate and a crab tea towel to Uncle Sam's tea cart.



I hope you have a great Fourth of July!

Crab Bisque

Memorial Day weekend the whole family went to the beach for a long weekend. While we were there we made some Crab Bisque which I thought I would share for Foodie Friday.



Make sure you stop by by Gollum's at Designs by Gollum.


I used this recipe from Recipezaar: Lobster or Crab Bisque

It was so good! A great way to celebrate being at the beach with all my family!



Make sure you visit Designs by Gollum for more great Foodie Posts!

Tablescape Thursday - Feeling Crabby!

It's Tablescape Thursday sponsored by Susan at BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH!



One of our favorite vacations in year's past has been to the Chesapeake Bay on the Maryland Eastern Shore. Alas, this year we have not been able to go, so I decided to do a table in honor of Chesapeake Bay crabs and corn. The campground where we usually stay always has plenty of crabs to catch and is right by a cornfield with a honors system payment box. There is not much better than fresh caught crabs and fresh picked corn, unless they are together in a chowder!

Here my table is covered with brown paper and the silver platter has a tea towel ready for the crabs and corn. I looked everywhere for our mallets to crack the crabs, but they were in our camper. The silver tray, the melamine shell plates, the flat crab plates and the butter knife/spreader on the right are all from Target several years ago. The cute crab bowls, the little salt and pepper shakers and the butter knife/spreader on the left are all from Le Gourmet Chef several years ago. The tea towel is from a boutique several years ago.















Now if I could just get the same wonderful crab and corn experience at home! Hope you enjoyed this table now make sure you visit BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH! for more wonderful tables! :D Jewel